I learned to read with "Dick and Jane" books and I don't remember being taught phonics, but my mother showed me how to sound out words. I remember being a much better reader than my classmates. I don't remember hearing about phonics until my 28 year old daughter started school. I think she had learned phonics by watching Sesame Street in preschool and she was reading at 4. My 10 year old didn't go to preschool but watched Between the Lions and probably picked up some phonics instruction there, but I think he started out sight reading. I thought he had to have some knowledge of phonics when we could spell out words that he hadn't been taught when he was just 2 1/2 and he could identify the word.
