Nursery Rhyme Early Reader
A gentle first step into reading through beautiful nursery rhymes and Charlotte Mason's whole-word method.
Pre-Reader — Nursery Rhyme Early Reader
A gentle reading-instruction curriculum for Kindergarten students and for 1st grade students who still need support learning to read. Built on Charlotte Mason's whole-word method and beloved nursery rhymes.
These lessons are temporarily removed while we make adjustments to better fit the Charlotte Mason method. Thank you for your patience — updated lessons will be available in July.
In Real Family Life
What the Pre-Reader looks like in real life.
What's inside
Every lesson follows Charlotte Mason's exact method from Volume 1, Part V.
Mind's Eye
Child studies each word until they can see it with eyes closed — building strong visual memory.
Card Matching
Find target words among distractors — printable word cards included for every lesson.
Letter Tiles
Build each word with magnetic or wooden tiles — tactile, hands-on spelling. (Tiles not included.)
Read the Rhyme
Find learned words in the nursery rhyme, then read together — real reading from day one.
Lesson 1 — "Humpty Dumpty"
Term 1 · Week 1
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Target Words
Distractor Words
Step 1 — SAT
Write sat on the board. "This word is SAT. Look at every letter carefully. Close your eyes — can you see SAT?" Find it in the card pile. Build with tiles: s · a · t.
Step 2 — ON
Write on. "ON — a tiny but very important word. 'Humpty sat ON a wall.' Look carefully." Find it. Build it.
Steps 3–8 + word cards available in the full download...
Who This Is For
A gentle reading path for Kindergarten and beyond.
In Charlotte Mason's model, formal school lessons began when a child turned six, including reading lessons. We honor that by keeping these lessons short, concrete, and gentle.
Many modern school settings, including charter schools, ask Kindergarten students to show some form of reading practice. For those families, English Pre-Reader may be used in Kindergarten as a gentle approach to reading, without turning early reading into long or pressured schoolwork.
It may also be used in 1st Grade if a child continues to need direct support learning how to read. In that case, use English Pre-Reader for reading instruction alongside Grade 1 English, which meets the needs of literature, oral narration, copywork, poetry, and recitation.
How I Like to Use It
A gentle rhythm for real children.
I often like to use this curriculum alongside a simple set of Bob Books and a Word Mastery reader on Amazon. This gives the child a gentle mix of whole-word reading, letter-based practice through simple stories, and extra confidence with the sounds and patterns they are learning.
A rhythm I often like is one day of Word Mastery, one day of Fostering Wonder Pre-Reader, and one day of a Bob Book that uses the current letter or pattern the child has been practicing. Depending on your child's engagement, you can combine some of these on the same day or spread them out more slowly across the week.
The goal is not to rush. Go at your child's pace. Some children are ready to move quickly, and others need more time with repetition, play, and gentle review. That is perfectly fine.
Materials you'll need
A simple basket of beautiful, practical tools goes a long way. You do not need anything elaborate — just a few hands-on materials and a warm, consistent lesson rhythm.
Whiteboard & marker
Or large paper — for writing target words
Letter tiles
Magnetic, wooden, or foam — for building words
Printer
For the included word cards — print and cut
Nursery rhyme book
Any illustrated collection — rhymes are also in the PDF