It’s how I learned and I started reading at 4. By the time I was in third grade I was reading 5 books in a weekend. Never learned phonics. Big problems with arithmetic, though.
My son was taught sight words and fell behind even though we spent 3 hours every night working with him. We brought him home and taught him phonics and with in a year he was a year ahead of public school.
We taught my daughter phonics when she was 4 years old. She ran rings around the gifted kids at the school that taught sight words. She was in 3rd grade and set the pace for the gifted reading program, which had up to 10th graders in it.
Phonics works, sight words don’t. Can’t convince me otherwise.
Ever read McLuhan? I almost want to retract my previous. It’s ultimately how we wind up reading anyway, isn’t it?