summer

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!

What We're Reading Wednesday: Mrs. Grace Egger

Check in on our ILS social media pages or here on our ILS Blog to hear from all your favorite ILS teachers and staff as they share a peek at what they’re reading this summer!

Mrs. Grace Egger, ILS Kindergarten Teacher, continues our “What We’re Reading Wednesday” series with a selection that she recommends students and families include on their summer reading list.

What’s on your summer list? We’d love to hear what you’re reading this summer as well!

What We're Reading Wednesday: Mrs. Marie Greenway

Check in on our ILS social media pages or here on our ILS Blog to hear from all your favorite ILS teachers and staff as they share a peek at what they’re reading this summer!

Mrs. Marie Greenway, ILS Music Teacher, kicks off our “What We’re Reading Wednesday” series with a look at a selection that has made it onto her summer reading list.

What’s on your summer list? We’d love to hear what you’re reading this summer as well!

Teachers as Students: Reflections from Summer Conferences

Excellent teachers should themselves embody a love for learning and be constantly seeking opportunities to grow and deepen their knowledge of the subjects they teach, pedagogy, how children learn and grow, theology, and the world around us. Immanuel teachers and staff are engaged formally and informally in continued professional development and learning opportunities, and for many, this includes participation in summer conferences. 

This summer, six ILS team members traveled to Plano, Texas, to participate in the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education's 18th annual summer conference. In addition to presenting three different sessions, faculty and staff were able to attend a variety of excellent sessions on a wide range of topics. Following the conference, teachers shared their reflections on these sessions and how they may be beneficial in their classrooms in the coming school year. 

Miss Marie Landskroener, ILS Music Teacher, shares with us one of her CCLE reflections. We hope you enjoy this insight into some of the learning that our teachers undertook this summer, and how this study translates into action within our classrooms. 

Meet Us Monday - Miss Gabriel Fickenscher, Operations Assistant

Please join us in welcoming Miss Gabriel Fickenscher as our new ILS Operations Assistant! Miss Fickenscher will be working in the ILS office, and will usually be the first person you meet when you visit or speak with on the phone when you call the school She is looking forward to getting to know all of our ILS families and students!

We've given Miss Fickenscher a chance to respond to our questions for a "Meet Us Monday" feature so that you can better get to know her! We hope you enjoy, and if you're in the school neighborhood over the summer, please stop by the office and introduce yourself!

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: Math Logic Puzzle from Mr. Schultz

Our ILS faculty invite our students (and parents!) to challenge themselves a bit this summer with our new Summer Teacher Challenge series! We'll be sharing a variety of puzzles and challenges from our ILS teachers that we invite you to solve. Students, share your solutions in the comments section for each challenge, and you could win a prize (please see our first challenge for more information on our great prizes!)

What we're reading (blog edition)...

Summer is here, and that means a little more time for catching up on our reading! We already shared some of our favorites books from our Upper and Lower School summer reading lists (and we would love to hear what books you and your children are enjoying this summer).

Now we thought we would share a few blogs, articles and news that have captured our attention or sparked our imagination this summer. We asked some of our teachers and faculty to share some things that have found to be interesting reads lately. From articles on classical, Christian education, to commentary on baseball, exploring the concept of utopia to Lincoln's greatest speech, here are a few reads we thought you might enjoy as well.

Have an interesting article or blog post you'd like to share? Leave the link in the comments section below!

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.”

Summer Reading Lists & Faculty Recommendations

Ah, summer! Students, parents and teachers alike have been counting down to summer break. It is a time for fun and relaxation, spending time with family and friends, and the beauty of schole.

As a part of their summer schole, students of all ages (and their families!) are strongly encouraged to make reading a part of their daily routine. 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.

To this end, ILS offers families a list of suggested readings for both Upper and Lower School students. Students may enjoy reading books from their own grade level, or listening as parents read aloud from more challenging texts.

With so many excellent choices from which to choose, we asked our faculty to share some of their personal recommendations to help you get started! We'd love to hear from you, too. Do you or your kids have any favorites on these lists you would recommend? Let us know in the comments!