Many churches discontinue Sunday School, small groups, children’s Bible clubs, and other Christian education programs over the summer. Should that also include teacher training? With people going on vacations and children home from school, you might reason, certainly people are too busy to attend training events. If you disband teacher training for the summer, how will teachers be ready to assume teaching responsibilities when classes resume?
Options for Teacher Training in the Summer
Before totally abandoning teacher training over the summer months, consider some alternatives that don’t require people to attend special meetings yet serve as a means of continued support and encouragement. The following resources from Ministry Tools Resource Center provide training that teachers can do on their own time, in their own setting, and at their own pace — a good formula for summer teacher training.
These Teacher Training DEVOTIONALS range from 6 to 30 individual devotions. Even if teachers did only one a week, it would help to fortify their spirits as they head back into teaching.
Here are Teacher Training WORKBOOKS that range from 50-100 pages. This kind of training provides a more intensive study yet can be completed as people are able.
And for even shorter options, here are Teacher Training WORKSHEETS that range from 1 to 10 pages. These are particularly good for tailoring training to specific needs of teachers.
If people are new to teaching, you might use the Teaching Ministry Manual. Only 29 pages, this resource could be used as a primer. Certainly that’s not asking too much over the summer months.