Teaching Tips 101

Hey! I’m Candace and I am the production editor on the VBS team for all things children! I want to talk to you about helping your teachers feel comfortable preparing to teach the curriculum, especially those who have never taught before.

• It’s important to make sure you have the resources you need. If you are teaching a Bible study, then make sure you have the leader guide, leader pack, and Bible Study Cards in plenty of time to get familiar with each piece before it is time to teach. This will also give you time to print off the CD-ROM items from the leader pack.

• For most teachers, it is easiest to organize things by day. In preparing all the leader pack items, separate them out by the days each item will be used. As you look through the leader guide, see what other supplies you will need for each day. Then designate a sack or box for each day of the week, and put that day’s materials in it. This way the supplies will be organized and you will have what you need and not be looking for supplies in the middle of teaching the kids!

• An important thing to remember is that there are a lot of ideas in the leader guide, and you may not have enough time to do every activity that is suggested. That’s OK! Teachers can pick and choose the activities that will work best for their class and for the time limits they have. The curriculum is there as a guide, but you should feel free to adapt and make it your own.

• Teachers should also try any activity before trying to teach it to the kids. This helps to work out any kinks you might find and to make sure you understand how to explain it to the kids.

• Also don’t try to do everything by yourself! Assign different parts of the lesson to different teachers. This way you are not responsible for every activity that will be taught.

• Remember to have fun. VBS is a great time to get to know the kids in your church and the visitors from the community.

• The most important thing a teacher needs to remember is to pray! Pray that God will use you as you teach, and pray for each child that comes into your class each day. As teachers, we may never know what seeds we have planted, but it’s happening all the time. Be confident and know that you are doing God’s work as you tell kids about Jesus.