Stacey Loscalzo

Latest Posts

Aug 03

An Olympic Temper Tantrum

by Stacey

We have been loving the Olympics in our house.

Rob and I have watched all the big events each night but because everything is on so, so late we have been recording each night’s festivities for the girls. Then the following night, we have been able to fast forward to all the best moments of the night before.

Most nights, Katherine has chosen to watch more Olympics instead of going upstairs in time to read before bed. Tonight, though, there wasn’t a ton of interesting Olympic coverage so we stopped watching in time to read before bed time. That said, we didn’t have as much time as usual and Katherine knew it.

“Mommy! We have hardly read at all! I don’t want to watch the Olympics any more. It is messing up our reading time!”

Now if that’s not the best temper tantrum ever I don’t know what is….

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Jul 30

Google It

by Stacey

Katherine: “How many seconds are in a minute?

Me: “Sixty.”

Katherine: “How many minutes are in an hour?”

Me: “Sixty.”

Katherine: “How many seconds are in a day?”

Me: “Gosh. When we get home, let’s get a pencil and some paper and figure that out.”

Katherine: “Or we could make it really easier and Google it.”

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Jul 26

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

by Stacey

I had heard lots and lots of good things about The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.

But here’s the thing. While I do have fond memories of watching the original Star Wars movies with my dad and will certainly want the girls to see them eventually, I am not what you would call a huge fan. I wondered how much I would enjoy a book based on a paper version of a Star Wars character.

Given my new love of the middle grade novel however, I decided I really should read one of hottest books in the genre. And my love affair continues.

Origami Yoda is a gem of a story both for kids and the adults in their lives. For kids (roughly fourth grade and up), it’s a fun, fast paced read with lots and lots of  subject matter meaningful to this age group. For parents, it’s a great opener for discussions on bullying, accepting people who are different and the beginning of the whole boy/girl thing. And for teachers, it is a great read for focusing on a writer’s voice as multiple narrators tell the tale of Dwight and his wise finger puppet.

I suppose this is just further proof not to judge a book by it’s cover- or in this case, it’s name…

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Jul 24

Ramona the Wise

by Stacey

We are full on in love with Ramona Quimby around here. A few years ago, I read all the Ramona books with Caroline and now I’m lucky to be able to read them all over again with Katherine.

Because I am now reading these books for at least the third time, counting my own reading as a child, I am noticing all sorts of new things.

My latest discovery is Ramona’s perspective on multiple choice testing. Or at least that is how I am choosing to interpret the following passage.

One day the reading workbook showed a picture of a chair with a wrinkled slipcover. Beneath the picture were two sentences. “This is for Pal (the family dog).” “This is not for Pal.” Ramona circled “This is for Pal,” because she decided Tom and Becky’s mother had put a slipcover on the chair so that Pal could lie on it without getting the chair dirty. Mrs. Griggs came along and put a big red check mark over her answer. “Read every word, Ramona,” she said which Ramona thought was unfair. She had read every word.

If you ask me, this sums up a lot of what goes on in classrooms around the country now and also apparently in 1975 when Ramona the Brave was first published. If Ramona had been given a chance to explain her answer, perhaps Mrs. Griggs would have complimented her on thinking through the issue in a creative way. Perhaps she would have called her Ramona the Wise. Instead Ramona left school that day feeling discouraged. What a shame for such a wise girl to feel that way…

 

 

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Jul 23

A New ‘Tradition’

by Stacey

A few nights ago, Katherine asked to read snuggled under my covers instead of hers.

And then the next night, Caroline joined us. Perhaps because there was more room. Perhaps because Katherine and I are reading our way through all of the Ramona books, some of Caroline’s favorites. Perhaps just because it seemed like a fun place to be.

Whatever the reason, I’ll take it. Seemingly out of nowhere, it is rare for me to read to the girls together now. I still read to Katherine every day at least once but my daily read alouds with Caroline are no longer daily. It seems that I read to Katherine when Caroline is already reading to herself.

Tonight, Caroline wasn’t wasn’t with us when Katherine and I started to read. Katherine stopped me and ran in to Caroline’s room.

“Caroline! It’s time for our tradition!”, she shouted.

Two nights, and we have a tradition on our hands. Seems like maybe the little sister has been missing Caroline almost as much as I have…

 

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Jul 20

Bookshelf

by Stacey

From Pinterest

I have very strict (some would say, very unfair) rules around television-watching during the school year. I begin every summer with the same exact set of rules. And then…

Well, you know where this is going.

I went searching for proof of why my rules are usually so strict and instead of research I found this wonderful quote.

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.”

— Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Thank you for the reminder…

 

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Jul 18

Girls of Summer Reading List: An Update

by Stacey

Somehow I have not written much about The Girls of Summer 2012 list created by the fabulously talented Meg Medina and Gigi Amateau.

I love a good reading list and this is one of the best. I think the subtitle of the list does a beautiful job of describing just the types of books you will find as you read your way through one amazing selection after another. The Girls of Summer: Not Your School’s Summer Reading List.

Meg and Gigi describe their list this way:

…an annual list of our personal favorites that we think speak to girls uniquely and help them understand the journey. These are books – new and old, well-known and quiet. What mattered to us most was the celebration of a girl’s connection to the world around her. In the pages of these lovely books you’ll find middle class girls, girls with disabilities, girls of color, girls who might know God, good girls/bad girls. But always girls who stare into the eyes of what’s ahead and refuse to flinch.

Before summer began, I had read quite a few of the titles… Extra Yarn, Me..Jane, Marty McGuire, See You at Harry’s, Inside Out and Back Again, Breadcrumbs, a Northern Light and The Fault in our Stars.

This jump start gave me motivation to read my way through the rest.

Over the weekend, the girls and I read Happy Like Soccer, a picture book that shows just how strong a little girl can be. Caroline sat still for a picture book read aloud (something she hasn’t done in a bit) and Katherine asked for a second reading right away (something she doesn’t do often).

And then this week, I read The Queen of Water, a novel based on the true story of Virginia, an Ecuadorian indigenous girl who is taken from her family to work, essentially, as a slave.

Two very different books, appropriate for very different readers but the message is the same. With family, education and strength, there is not limit to what girls can do.

 

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Jul 17

The Lions of Little Rock

by Stacey

For ages I really loved reading adult books- not the 50 Shades of Grey kind, just the ones you find in the Adult Fiction section of the library.

Then I went through a Young Adult phase- Hunger Games, Twilight and the like.

Now, I seem to be reading lots and lots of middle grade fiction. To avoid worrying about what this has to say about my development, I instead focus on how many great books there are in this category.

My latest read was The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. This book tells the story of the year after the Little Rock Nine integrated the Little Rock schools. In 1958, the high schools of Little Rock shut their doors to avoid integration. This fact alone would have made this story a fascinating read. I, for one, had no idea this had happened. But the book, full of historical detail, also tells the heart wrenching story of a friendship between two girls, one white and one black.

Whether you are a historical fiction fan or a reader drawn to tales of relationship, this is a book that you will not want to miss.

And in case you need extra motivation, The Lions of Little Rock is mentioned by Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 Production fame in her Newbery/Caldecott 2013:Mid-Year Prediction Post. Perhaps, if you read and love Lions, you will feel ‘in the know’ next winter. And that is always fun…

 

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Jul 16

Irony, The Puppy Way

by Stacey

The other day I read a funny Facebook post of a conversation between a mother and a daughter on the definition of irony.

Well, sometimes, you go upstairs to fold the laundry and you come back downstairs to a photographic definition of the term.

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