schole

ILS Summer Book Recommendations

Happy Summer! We are already missing the joyful sounds of students filling the classrooms and hallways, but we do hope that students and families are able to enjoy a fun and restful summer break.

As it is throughout our school year together, we hope that reading continues to be a regular part of the summer routine and summer schole for both students and their families. Parents are welcome to join us in reading our Summer Book Club selection: Life Under Compulsion: ten ways to destroy the humanity of your child, by Anthony Esolen, and join us at one or more of our book club discussions.

Looking for some additions to your child’s summer reading (or your own)? We invited faculty and staff to pass along their suggestions for books for students and parents this summer.

Additionally, our ILS teachers have compiled a list of suggested readings for both Upper and Lower School students as a resource for families to help select books that students may enjoy, both reading books from their own grade level, or listening as parents read aloud from more challenging texts. Looking for even more recommendations? Check out a couple of our past summer reading blog posts filled with ideas and favorites from ILS faculty past and present!

What is on your own summer reading list? Are you checking out something new, or re-visiting an old favorite? Let us know in the comments!

ILS Summer Reading Lists & Recommendations

Summer! How do you plan to spend your summer months? We know that for many students and their families, summer includes vacations, trips to the pool, spending time with family, summer camps, hitting the beach, playing outdoors, and a variety of other activities.

We also hope that reading will be a regular part of the summer routine and summer schole for both students and their families. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies, read individually or out loud together should inspire and fuel a sense of wonder and curiosity for both students and adults.

We asked our faculty if they would mind sharing what books are on their own personal summer reading lists and any recommendations they have for students or families to perhaps give you some ideas to consider as you think about what you may enjoy reading this summer.

Additionally, our ILS teachers have compiled a list of suggested readings for both Upper and Lower School students as a resource for families to help select books that students may enjoy, both reading books from their own grade level, or listening as parents read aloud from more challenging texts. Check out our blog post from last summer where teachers shared some of their own favorites from this list!

What is on your own summer reading list? Are you checking out something new, or re-visiting an old favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Summer Teacher Challenge: Latin Translation from Mrs. Krumwiede

Our ILS teachers invite our students (and parents!) to challenge themselves a bit this summer with our new Summer Teacher Challenge series! We will be sharing a variety of puzzles and challenges from our ILS teachers on our blog throughout the summer and giving you the chance to solve them. Share your solutions in the comments section for each challenge, and you could win a prize!

For each Challenge, students have one week to share their solutions. We will draw a name from the correct responses, and the winner will be able to choose from a variety of great prizes. We will have some fantastic books (including the new illustrated Harry Potter books!) from which to choose, as well as gift cards to Dairy Godmother!

Our first Summer Teacher Challenge comes from 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Krumwiede. Try your hand at translating this short story from Latin into English, and the best translation will win! (For our younger Latin scholars, a glossary of terms is included in the comments section. For our older scholars, we encourage you to give us your best translation without using the glossary!)

Puer Parvus et Luna Magna
Puer parvus magnam lunam cum oculis spectat. Luna magna in eo lucet. Lux eum adit et puer parvus lunam magnam laudat, “Sum parvus. Es magna. Adsum. Abes. Eheu! Deus ea magna et parva creat!” Puer parvus ad stellas et lunam cantat. Est laetus. Deus puerum spectat et gaudet, “Hic puer mihi gaudium dat et eum beabo.”

Beauty in Discipline

Upper School Coffee Reflection
 

On the first Friday of the school year, after praying as a school community to begin our day, about 20 parents gathered for coffee in our school’s schole room.

Schole is a Greek term, meaning leisure or rest. Its meaning is very active however, not like we think of leisure today. In some ways, I feel that if I was truly leisurely this morning, I would have slept in, and certainly would not have walked the dog.  “Not necessarily!” Would say the classical Greeks. Schole is leisure or rest in contemplation and it largely comes through conversation and reflection. To a classical Greek, schole could very well be accomplished as I walked my dog and prayed and thought.  Why? It is what happens when a human focuses on higher matters, which can be done while the body is engaged in tasks or is sitting still. For example, schole is never my rattled and disjointed train of thought as I’m driving to work. However, if I was driving to work and truly reflecting on my morning Bible study, that’s different- that’s schole.