Books for Breakfast-McCall-Crabbs

McCall-Crabbs. I've been attracted to this book for almost a year now. I purchased it used and half price at HomeschoolClassifieds.com (a site I love because I've sold so much of my unused curriculum!) This book has short passages that are used to teach reading comprehension and thinking skills.

It is quite diagnostic oriented and organized by grade level but I'm ignoring that and starting at the beginning. Here's how we're using it...during our breakfast/morning history reading time we have a SANDWICH. The first piece of bread is a short fairy tale or story, the sandwich filling is the history and the top piece is another short story. This has been SO MUCH FUN and become part of our daily routine.

We continue to read H.A. Guerber's Story of Ancient World which is one page of Bible history per day, just the right amount for us right now.

For short stories I've read from:
3 Minute Stories/Fairy Tales by Publications International and The Lion Storyteller Book of Animal Tales by Bob Hartman as well as selected picture books at times and I'm waiting for Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell but in the meantime I'm using the McCall Crabbs since the stories are so short and wonderfully varied, I've learned quite a lot already! The kids seem to enjoy answering the questions after I read the paragraph.

Daniel gets the even numbered questions since he was born on an even year and Sarah gets the odd ones for the same reason. Another way I "stay organized" is Daniel has an "L" in his name, so he's always on my LEFT. Sarah has an "R" in her name and she goes on the RIGHT. This is such a weird thing, but when I pour their milk glasses or make their dinner plates or walk across the street, they "know their place"! It is one less decision I have to make and I love that their names lend to this! I suppose this one fact makes me a geek!