Spelling that may seem "willy-nilly" but is not random and un-patterned is part of which stage of spelling development?

In the spelling development stages, the prephonetic stage is characterized by the understanding that letters represent sounds, but the representation may not align accurately with the sounds in words. During this stage, children begin to experiment with letters and often use spelling that may appear random or "willy-nilly." However, their choices often reflect some emerging patterns or connections between letters and sounds, even if they are not yet fully formed or conventional.

Children at this stage are typically not yet applying phonetic rules in a consistent manner, but they are starting to grasp the relationship between sounds and letters, which helps them make choices that, while seeming unorganized, reflect their learning process. This stage is a crucial transitional point, as it lays the groundwork for the development of more systematic spelling strategies in later stages, where spelling becomes more phonetic and semantically oriented.