Phonics for Toddlers in New York
Give your toddler a strong start with our Reading in PreSchool tutors trained in our reading program, The Alexander Reading Method. The method was designed to spark curiosity and a love of learning from the very beginning, introducing little ones to the building blocks they'll need to grow into confident readers.
Our Nursery program, designed for children ages 2.5 to 4, is the first step in The Alexander Reading Method. Through playful, hands-on activities, children build fine motor skills, begin recognizing uppercase and lowercase letters, and are introduced to letter sounds (with letter writing introduced when each child is ready). Our goal is to help your child stay 6 to 12 months ahead, so they enter their next stage of learning with confidence.
Nursery Reading Program Curriculum
We use The Alexander Reading Method, which introduces toddlers to the earliest building blocks of reading through a structured, play-based approach that feels natural and enjoyable. Starting with children ages 2.5 to 4, our Nursery program focuses on fine motor skills, uppercase and lowercase letter recognition, and an introduction to letter sounds — with letter writing introduced once a child shows readiness — all through lessons designed to match their pace and developmental stage.
Each child begins with an initial assessment. This helps us understand where they are and how they learn best. From there, lessons are shaped around their needs.
In-Person New York Classes
Our in-person toddler lessons are offered throughout the year in New York City, Scarsdale, Rye, Rye Brook, and Greenwich, CT. Also, during the summer months, families can take in-person classes in the Hamptons.
The classes take place in your home and are play-based to keep learning enjoyable, while still building a strong academic foundation. With consistent support and one-on-one attention, children develop the skills needed to stay 6 to 12 months ahead, making the transition into more demanding grades feel easier.
WHAT YOUR CHILD WILL LEARN
Our Nursery program lays the important groundwork for reading, helping children ages 2.5 to 4 build the skills they'll need before moving on to more structured phonics instruction. In this stage, your child will develop:
Fine motor skills to support future writing
Uppercase and lowercase letter recognition
An introduction to letter sounds
Early letter writing skills, when the child is ready
Confidence through play-based learning and repetition
This stage introduces structure in a gentle, natural way, helping children become familiar with letters and begin expressing them through writing as they're ready. By building these foundational skills early, children enter our PreK program 6 to 12 months ahead, setting them up for a smooth transition into blending, decoding, and reading their first words.
Some children (ages 3 to 4) may be ready to move into our PreK program sooner, depending on their individual development and readiness. For these children, PreK offers the next step in The Alexander Reading Method:
PreK Level One introduces structured letter writing, blending sounds, and early decoding, building on the letter recognition and letter sounds learned in Nursery.
PreK Level Two advances further into blending CVC words, reading Level 1 books, and learning early sight words, preparing children for Kindergarten benchmarks.
Every child progresses at their own unique pace, so we assess readiness individually rather than by age alone. If your child is showing strong letter recognition, sound awareness, and engagement, our tutors will guide you on when it may be time to transition.
Meet the New York Team
Each Reading In PreSchool teacher is trained in The Alexander Reading Method.
98% Success Rate: Trusted by Families Raising Confident Readers
Our goal at Reading In PreSchool is simple: help your child feel ready, supported, and ahead—so they can continue to grow with confidence for years to come.
Since 2013, families have turned to Reading In PreSchool to help their children build strong reading foundations early. With a 98% success rate, our program has helped thousands of children become capable readers before entering more advanced grades.
Parents often notice not just stronger reading skills, but a shift in confidence. Children begin to approach learning with excitement, participate more in school, and feel proud of what they can do on their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
In-person lessons are offered year-round in New York City, Scarsdale, Rye, Rye Brook, and Greenwich, CT. During the summer, families also have the option to have in-person classes in the Hamptons. Lessons take place in the comfort of your home.
Every child begins with an assessment, where our tutor observes your child's fine motor skills, letter familiarity, and comfort with sounds. This isn't a pass/fail test. It's simply how we learn where your child is starting from, so that their lessons can be built around their needs. From there, we design a personalized path that keeps your child engaged, curious, and progressing at their own pace.
We'll evaluate every child first to understand how many sessions are best for them per week. A child starting in our Nursery program or PreK program often receives lessons twice per week, and sometimes three times per week (depending on the preference of the parents).
Often, what we have noticed is that a child coming to us in Kindergarten or 1st grade will likely be behind our benchmarks and will need 3 to 5 classes per week to catch up (and then go down to 2 to 3 lessons per week to get ahead).
Yes, you do. We'll send out progress reports every month. Please note we do not send out progress reports for the months of December, March, and June, when children have several breaks.
Our teachers have their Master's in General and/or Special Education and are trained in The Alexander Reading Method. Additionally, they are people with the following qualities:
- A love of working with and teaching young children
- The ability to keep children engaged and having fun
- Empathy
- Patience
- Bubbly, with young energy
- The ability to show results
- Organized
- Great communication skills
- Respectful in our clients’ homes
- Teachers who love learning and exploring new techniques that will meet the individual child's needs
Every single child is different. If your child has no processing delays or learning issues, and if there are no significant breaks from sessions throughout the year, the following is our general time frame to plan for. It is based on consistent, twice-per-week classes and some light homework a few times a week.
- Age 2.5: 3 years
- Ages 3 to 4: 2-3 years
- Ages 4.5-5.5: 2 years
- Ages 5.5 - 6.5: 1-2 years
- Older ages: 6 months to a year
In our experience, we have seen that children who take a break from classes for a month or more usually lose 2 months of information for every month they miss. This results in the course extending beyond the time frames listed above.
Yes, our programs are a great fit for young learners. We use clear instructions to guide them step by step as they move toward fluent reading.
Letter recognition is knowing what a letter looks like and being able to name it. For example, pointing to "B" and knowing it's a B. Early reading comes later, once a child begins connecting those letters to their sounds and blending them together to form words. In our Nursery program, we focus on building that first layer: uppercase and lowercase letter recognition alongside an introduction to letter sounds. This strong foundation is what helps children learn to read with confidence once they move into more structured phonics instruction.
We recommend leaving the part of teaching phonics to your child's Reading In PreSchool tutor. Our program introduces letters and sounds in a very specific, intentional order, and each activity builds on the one before it. If letter sounds are introduced differently at home, it can create mixed signals.
We understand that toddlers have very short attention spans. That's why, instead of using worksheets or having them sit still for long stretches, our lessons are built around fun games, songs, movement, and multi-sensory activities that keep your child engaged without them even realizing they're learning. Sessions are also kept short (for 30 minutes) and paced to match your child's natural attention span.
Every child moves at their own pace, so there isn't one set age for this transition. Some children who are 2.5 years old can take up to 3 years to move into PreK Level One.
Once your child shows strong letter and sound recognition, along with growing readiness for letter writing, they may be ready to begin PreK Level One. There, they'll start blending sounds together and working toward reading real words through phonics, rather than guessing at whole word shapes from memory. This is different from programs that have kids memorize lists of read words by sight. Our approach helps children sound out new words on their own, creating a foundation that carries them confidently into Kindergarten and beyond.