I discovered DD3 had ten or so sight words a few months after she turned two. I think she'd known the alphabet forever (i.e., before she could really talk). I didn't teach her deliberately, but she learned it. Of course when I discovered she had taught herself sight words I figured it was only a matter of time before she started reading, but it took longer than I thought it would. She didn't begin reading phonetically until very recently, but she's taken off in a big way. I think it's really interesting that she refuses to "sound out" words, and thus cannot read BOB books, but she is able to read words she's never heard or seen before. She is sounding them out, obviously, but for her it only works inside her head.
I have done _nothing_ to teach her, except read to her and occasionally let her play on my computer (mostly starfall).
I guess in retrospect, I should have figured something was up when she was less than two years old and refused to let me read her bedtime stories (e.g., Peter Rabbit)--because she had to recite them to me instead.
She doesn't read in public much (since she is very shy) but she has gotten some crazy looks from time to time. Nobody has said anything negative to us.
