The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-18
The Church Vacation School

AS the Sunday school became the parent of both free public school ana modern church school, so the vacation school became the parent of a move ment in both public school and reli- gious circles.
 The present day vacation school Of religious education has two great taproots: Daily Vacation Bible schools and vacation religious day schools, The program of the former includes music. Bible stories. patriotic instruction. habit talks, and an ex- tensive system of craft work The vacation religious day school has a closely graded course of study which is of distinctively religious educa- tional value. The program includes training in worship biblical instruc- tion, missionary stories, church his- tory, memory work, notebook work, games, calisthenics and dramatiza- tfon. One has minimum of purely religious instruction while the other correlates into a vital program. of re- ligious education, religious instruc- ton and congressional activity and Is growing in favor and extent rapidly.
 The vacation schools of religious instruction are bringing together three important vacation factors: 1. idle churches. 2. idle children and ;. idle teachers. They have co-ordf- mated the three into purposeful activ- ity.
 The majority of such schools have been children from six to twelve years of age. There Is no reason why older children could not be taught except that the older child introduces problems of discipline that make difficult the securing of ade- quate teachers.
 Schedules
 Most schools open at o'clock in the morning with a shqft period of instruction and training in worship through music, prayer, devotional Bible reading and story by de- partments. This period is followed by one much longer in which re- liglous instruction and congressional work is done In separate classes. Then comes an assembly period, us- ually twice week, devoted to wor- ship, ethical and patriotic stories, salutes to the American flag and Christian flag, and demonstrations by the classes of the work that they have accomplished. During this period the other three days of the week the classes meet in their regu- lar groups for dramatization, note- book work and other congressional activities.
 The rapid growth of interest and usefulness of the vacation school movement is well Illustrated by the increases reported by the Interna- tional Association of Daily Vacation Bible school with headquarters in New York city. This organization In 1907 conducted 192 schools with 70 teachers and had an enrolment of 5,OS3 children. In 1921 the report showed 2,634 schools, 15.555 teachers and 270, 900 enrolled children. Per- haps no single recent development in religious education gives more prom ise of large returns on a small in- vestment of time and effort than does the vacation school movement, and 1t is spreading rapidly both in rural and city communities throughout the country.
 To Begin Tomorrow
 In Birmingham two such schools were conducted last summer, one at the First Christian church, and an- other at the Fifth Avenue Presby- terian with the First Methodist as- sisting Both schools were so satis- factory that they will be put on again this summer and in bigger way.
 The new Sunday school building at First Methodist church will be used this summer under the direction of Mrs. Hunter Armstrong, who con ducted the school for this district