Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Title: Just Like Home

Author: Sarah Gailey

Publisher: Tor Books 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

CW: Body horror, murder, torture

Somehow I snatched up an ebook copy of Sarah Gailey’s newest creation from the library, jumping ahead of almost everyone to read. I purposely did not read the summary to go into the story completely blind. I wanted to just experience the story as it unfolds as Gailey intended it to be. I dove in and was immediately creeped out by the house and the mystery surrounding the family. Vera wasn’t the most sympathetic character and yet I felt that she was oddly compelling to follow. I was immediately interested in the secrets that she was keeping and the ways that those secrets would come out. As the book progressed, I felt like we are getting sucked down into a bottomless hole. I didn’t know where we were going to end up. And by the 80% mark, I was completely scared at how the story was going to end. The story ends up taking a turn into straight horror and specifically body horror. It was the scariest book that I’ve read in quite awhile. I might even have nightmares after this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W6: Busy as Bees

What We Studied

It was a very busy week for us. We had a field trip, our regular activities, a trip to the airport (drop off for J), and the start of a weekend trip. Being so busy and attempting to stay on top of the house meant that we cut back a bit on schoolwork to accommodate. That’s okay. This week (like starting today) is a flex week where we get to take some time to catch up on units and rearrange things for the next block of weeks.

Doing logic with Hootie the owl

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished reading Word of Mouse as our coop book club selection. We finished in time to take to coop so another family to borrow our book. As for our actual big ELA read aloud, we started reading The Wild Robot and Arthur is very into the story. I loved how the chapter give us little vignettes that connect with Roz’s longer storyline. Loving it! Hopefully we finished next week and then can dive right into the sequel. Arthur officially started his spelling curriculum this year. I hadn’t planned on doing a formal spelling curriculum, but one of my favorite resources, The Moffatt Girls, released a 3rd grade version and offered a discount for the first week. I snapped it up we will continue with spelling for another year.

• The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Word of Mouse by James Patterson

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). I also found a fun packet of logic puzzles based on Alice in Wonderland. We will be spreading these out over our reading of the text.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Tinkeractive Math Kindergarten

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We did a bit more exploration of the various groups of Native Americans. Turtle Island is my current favorite resource. I love how the chapters are divided. We get a little snapshot of many different cultures and areas. Arthur also continued reading a graphic novel collections of Native American tales as part of his independent work. We also started a history read aloud for our Native American study.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• Native Americans: A Visual Exploration by SN Paella

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet: Native American Poems of the Land by Joseph Bruchac

• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger

• Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki

• History Quest: U.S. History

• Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris

Quentin began his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did a study of the United States. We covered Mexico this week with a lot of stories and books.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

• Mexican Art and Architecture by Anna Carew-Miller

• Mexico by Elaine Landau

• Living In Mexico by Chloe Perkins

• Follow Me Around Mexico by Wiley Blevins

• P is for Pinata by Tony Johnston

• Let's Explore Mexico by Walt K. Moon

• Mexico ABCs

• Cinco de Mouse-O! by Judy Cox

• Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales

• Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

• The First Tortilla by Rudolfo Anaya

• My Family Celebrates Day of the Dead

• Danza! by Duncan Tonatiuh

• Holy Mole by Caroline McAllister

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. Beyond the paperwork, Arthur focused on his game he’s been making (Lord of the Book) and some random side creative projects. This week he also had an Outschool class on creative writing. It was a big brainstorming session with tips and tricks to write better stories. Afterward, he dove right into making up some new stories.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. This week the boys learned about friction and had fun with some race cars

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked about animals of North America. Specially we learned a bit about the American Bison this week. Lots of fun as we have seen bison up close on a number of occasions.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

STEAM Coop

The older class finished their geology unit with a study of volcanoes and earthquakes. After some good discussion, we made lava flows with puffy paint and flower pots. With the conclusion of this week, I am done teaching for the semester. Now I get to just participate and fix problems as they arise. The younger two classes learned about fungi. Quentin learned about yeast and took home some to make bread net week..

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week, art and music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. This is why I have built in flex weeks to catch up on some of the things that get pushed aside during a normal week. We also didn’t do much cooking this week due to the busy schedule.

Field Trip

Tuesday we did a guided tour of Lauritzen Gardens with a special emphasis on spotting mushrooms through the gardens. We did some interesting specimens on our walk. Afterward, we went into the classroom to learn a bit more about mushrooms and make our own out of rocks, felt, and yarn. It was a big, busy field trip, but I enjoyed our walk.

Friday was took off on a weekend trip to Des Moines. Specifically we were going to visit the Living History Farms for their homeschool day, but I didn’t want to drive over 4 hours in one day. So, we added two more days and explored the area. After the Living History Farms, we spent the afternoon at a local arcade and stayed for pizza dinner. Saturday it rained all day so we ended up visiting the Science Center of Iowa. We will definitely be back there soon! It was full of interactive exhibits and shows. We snuck in a bookstore browsing session after the Science Center. On Sunday, we traveled northwest to Boone to take a ride on the Fraser Excursion Train. The trip is an 11 mile round trip through the Des Moines River Valley area. We saw some beautiful countryside and even a few eagles. As an added bonus, it was Day Out with Thomas this weekend, so we got to enjoy those exhibits as well.

High

• Coop was lots of fun and low pressure this week. I think all the kids are finally settling in and getting comfortable.

Low

• A hectic schedule meant that we had to skip art class this week. Oh well, maybe next week.

Next Week

• Continuing an ELA read aloud and a History read aloud (A)

• Catching up on history (A)

• Moving on to Energy for Physics (A)

• Reading some animal stories (Q)

• Covering Central America and the Caribbean (Q)

• Covering telecommunications (A) and maps and geography (Q) for coop

• Introducing the art of John Singleton Copley?

• Listening to Bach

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - The Warning "Money"

Digging this song lately.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker

Title: Along the Saltwise Sea (The Up and Under #3)

Author: A. Deborah Baker

Publisher: Tordotcom 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When the improbable road leaves Avery and Zib in the land of Air and at the mercy of the Queen of Swords, escape without becoming monsters may be impossible. But with the aid of the Queen's son, the unpredictable Jack Daw, they may emerge with enough of their humanity to someday make it home. Their journey is not yet over; the dangers are no less great.

We continue on with Avery and Zib’s journey on the Improbable Road. Or more accurately, their journey after losing the Improbably Road. We finally get more information about Crow Girl’s past and specifically her making. And we get to meet some great new characters. The mosasaur was an intriguing “monster” lurking the sea. The Queen of Swords was suitable mercurial and cruel. But my favorite was Jack Daw. I loved seeing his interaction with the other characters and especially his explanations for the inner workings of The Up and Under. It looks like Jack Daw will continue with our misfit band for at least a little while. I am very excited to continue reading this series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

Title: The Stranger Diaries

Author: Elly Griffiths

Publisher: Mariner Books 2019

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 338

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she even teaches a course on him. But when one of Clare’s colleagues is found dead, with a line from Holland’s iconic story “The Stranger” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with her favorite literature.

The police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her diary, the only outlet for her suspicions and fears. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:

Hallo Clare. You don’t know me.

Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?

I heard about this one from a book recommendation list from my library. They described it as a spooky mystery with lots of atmosphere. There was definitely some atmosphere and a few spooky scenes, but that’s really it. The book just didn’t live up to what I was expecting it to me. I wanted to be very creeped out by the book. I wanted the potential haunted school and study to be more of a thing. I wanted something more to be made of the old ghost stories. In the end, this was a very boilerplate murder mystery involving a stalker. I wasn’t that excited when we get to the end. Clare was an okay narrator to follow. Georgie tended to be very annoying and naive in her narration. Understandable given her age, but still not what I wanted to read. And Harbinder was just so incredibly surly all the time that I didn’t really want to attempt to connect with her. A middle of the road mystery.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Title: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot #2)

Author: Becky Chambers

Publisher: Tordotcom 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 152

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home.

They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.

Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?

A lovely continuation of the explorations of Sibling Dex and Mosscap. This time we get to see Mosscap interact with a variety of humans and learn about different settlements. I loved seeing Mosscap get a bit of distance from the forest and move into more settled areas. My favorite section was actually the small chapter set on the coast. We get to learn more about the current state of the world as Dex explains how humans on the coastlines live. I was fascinated. And though it all, they discuss life and identity. I can’t wait until the next volume of their journey to the city.

Monk and Robot

• #1 A Psalm for the Wild-Built

• #2 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #16

Reading: I grabbed an ebook of Sarah Gailey’s new book, Just Like Home. it was described as gothic horror, so of course, I needed to read it like now. I’m only about 40 pages in and the mystery has yet to really be revealed. But it definitely has a ton of atmosphere.

Watching: J and I are focusing on music documentaries and movie for September. We started watching Sonic Highways, one of the two docu-series done by the Foo Fighters. I’m loving this look at different music scenes and people around the country.

Listening: I’m finally catching up on my small backlog of Currently Reading podcast episodes.

Making: Working through my August Memory Planner pages. I’m hoping to stay on top of this throughout the end of this year.

Feeling: The boys and I are doing a weekend trip to Des Moines starting on Friday. We all want to go now. Unfortunately, we still have to get through today, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Planning: Slowly planning out the boys’ birthday party in early October. We’re doing a Knights of the Round Table theme.

Loving: Sometimes I want a bit of sweetness in my iced tea, but don’t really want proper sweet tea. So excited that Gold Peak sells Slightly Sweet Tea. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W5: Spontaneous Trips are Fun, but Also Tiring

What We Studied

We left the house every single day this week (again). This wee was the Nebraska State Fair and I randomly decided on Saturday to take the kids on Monday. The fair location in Grand Island is about a 2 hour drive from home. So we left the house early on Monday morning to spend the day at the fair. Fun, but my goodness, it was exhausting when you add on a lake trip on Tuesday, science on Wednesday, coop on Thursday, and a Fontenelle Forest trip on Friday. A full week of activities!

We had the lake to ourselves

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished reading Through the Looking-glass this week. He didn’t like the sequel as much as the first book, but we wanted to cover the two volumes before watching a movie version. He also has a weekly poetry selection. We continued our Myths and Maps extra curriculum from B&R. We began covering creation stories from around the world. I’m liking these short retellings of myths. Eventually we will add our squares to a world map and see where all the civilizations are. We continued our next book club selection, Word of Mouse. Trying to finish this coming week.

• Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• In the Beginning by Virginia Hamilton

• Word of Mouse by James Patterson

Quentin covered some interesting books focused on Native American cultures. We also started sprinkling in animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• We are Grateful / Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

• A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull by Jospeh Bruchac

• Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). I also found a fun packet of logic puzzles based on Alice in Wonderland. We will be spreading these out over our reading of the text.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Singapore 4A

• Tinkeractive Math Kindergarten

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

Social Studies

Arthur skipped history this week in favor of science. No problem, we’ll pick up where we left off next week.

Quentin began his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We did a study of the United States. To celebrate, we made s’mores.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me; A School Like Mine

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. Beyond the paperwork, Arthur focused on his game he’s been making (Lord of the Book) and some random side creative projects.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. This week the boys learned about Newton’s Third Law of Motion and conversation of momentum. They had fun making balloon rockets for their challenge level.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We talked about animals of North America.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

STEAM Coop

This was our first week post-closing registration. We have 21 families that have joined coop with a total of 38 students participating. We are just about at capacity! But I’m very excited about creating deeper bonds with everyone in coop. The older class continued their geology lessons this week with a focus on weathering and erosion. The younger two classes learned about fungi. Quentin was super excited to paint with mushrooms.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. This week, art and music just didn’t happen. But that’s okay. This is why I have built in flex weeks to catch up on some of the things that get pushed aside during a normal week.

For our cooking, Quentin made s’mores. Pretty basic for the U.S., but it was tasty. Next week’s Mexico menu will be better.

Field Trip

Our actual field trip was Friday’s visit to Fontenelle Forest. All the kids were tasked with spotting mushrooms along our hike. We found many different kinds and took tons of pictures. Of course the kids had to play at the playground after our walk and have a picnic before seeing the birds at Raptor Rescue.

High

• The State Fair was an experience! The boys are already asking if we can go next year. Only 360 days to wait…

Low

• So many activities meant that we are a bit behind on our book work. We’ll catch up (that’s why I build in flex weeks), but I’m not a fan of feeling behind.

Next Week

• Starting an ELA read aloud and a History read aloud (A)

• Learning about Native American cultures of the West Coast (A)

• Moving on to Friction for Physics (A)

• Reading some animal stories (Q)

• Covering Mexico (Q)

• Covering geology (A) and fungi (Q) for coop - last week for geology (and me teaching!)

• Introducing the art of John Singleton Copley?

• Finishing Word of Mouse for coop book club

• Listening to Bach

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Rain City Drive "Blood Runs Cold"

I didn’t realize that I liked this band as much as I do.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Algonquin Books 2014

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 260

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.

Definitely not my book. I should have known that anything labeled “sweet” was probably not going to appeal to my reading tastes. I was interested with the first two chapters, but then things went downhill immediately. Too many cutesy coincidences. Too many sweet interactions. Too many heartwarming conversations. I was rolling my eyes throughout the entire book. Curmudgeon characters are not my thing. I dislike when terminal diseases are used to pull at the heart-strings. I was not a fan of the weird time jumps. Overall, I very much disliked this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Title: City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1)

Author: Victoria Schwab

Publisher: Scholastic 2018

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 285

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger.When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself.And she'll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.#1 NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab delivers a thrillingly spooky and action-packed tale of hauntings, history, mystery, and the bond between friends (even if that friend is a ghost . . .).

A lovely blend of spooky and friendship. Right away, we’re dropped into Cassidy’s world of ghosts; We don’t get all the answers in this volume, but we certainly start to uncover the secrets. With Jacob and some new friends, we get a bit more information about living in the world between the living and the dead. I loved the entire setup of Cass’s family right down to the cat Grim. Once we get to Edinburgh the story starts moving quickly and doesn’t let up. I loved the various locales and descriptions. I do so wish to visit Edinburgh at some point in my life. I would love to see the Old Town and the Castle. And maybe I will see some ghosts while there. There are definitely some great spooky scenes involving lots of child ghosts and the Raven. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Cassidy Blake

• #1 City of Ghosts

• #2 Tunnel of Bones

• #3 Bridge of Souls

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2022 Life Goals

Let’s check in on August’s goals and my progress.

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Kick off the Coop for the Fall Semester ✓

• Make 4 Recipes for Our 52 Deserts - I fell a bit short with only two recipes.

• Visit the zoo once ✓

• Visit two state parks ✓

September Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Have a Fun Weekend in Des Moines

• Complete Music Movies and Documentary Month

• Plan the Boys’ Birthday Party

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Okay, it’s officially September. Let’s cut the 90 degree days please…

• Returning almost all my library books feels really good. I’m trying to dive into my own shelves for the next two months.

• Only one more week of teaching coop for me. I’m almost done with the big geology unit.

• I need to put the final touches on our trip to Des Moines next week. Saturday’s plans are still up in the air.

Next up on the TBR pile: