Each of our SEEK departments has specific goals set by Department Coordinators with many years of homeschooling and SEEK leadership experience. Every semester our leadership team works with potential class leaders to provide the most interesting and informative classes for the children in our program. However, we cannot reach any of our objectives without volunteer leaders – our members ultimately determine what groups we will offer each semester.
Nursery/Preschool Department
SEEK offers nursery/preschool to siblings of school-age children in the ministry. Children that have not yet turned 5 by August 31 of each school year are cared for in SEEK’s Nursery/Preschool Department. We offer five classrooms for this age group. Dragonflies (newborns) and Crickets (crawlers) provide nursery care. Honeybees (2’s), Grasshoppers (3/4’s), Praying Mantis (3/4’s), and Walking Sticks (3/4’s) provide preschool activities facilitated by a lead teacher. Theme based, age appropriate curriculum is used to teach letter and number recognition, color and shape recognition, community helpers, simple science concepts, weather, beginning number and spatial concepts.
Early Elementary Department
The Early Elementary Department includes children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Groups in this department have a maximum six to one child-adult ratio and generally do not assign homework. Children in this age group have a wide range of skills, so the most successful groups do not require reading proficiency but provide a variety of activities that center around a particular topic such as science, history, math, music, drama, weather, community, or art – classes that easily lend themselves to hands on learning. Group learning works best when structured with segments that move the children from one activity to the next, keeping children engaged for short periods of time. Physical education groups such as tumbling or playgrounds games are also popular.
Elementary Department
Our Elementary Department includes children in 3rd through 5th grade. Groups in this department begin to introduce more challenging topics and frequently assign homework. In this age group, students are transitioning to the next level of development, and independent thinking and reading is encouraged, as well as accountability in completing assignments. The most successful groups in this department include beginning lab science (e.g., Apologia’s Young Explorer Series), literature (e.g., book studies, Literature Pockets), history, beginning writing, art, geography, physical education, and a variety of electives which focus on creative thinking and development of beginning public speaking skills.
Middle/High Department
Our Middle/High Department includes students from 6th grade to graduation. We offer three different kinds of groups in this department.
Middle School Only groups include students in 6th through 8th grade, typically focus on core skills, and are designed to help prepare middle school students for high school. Apologia General and Physical Science, IEW writing, literature, and history are some of our most popular groups in this age range.
Middle/High School groups are open to all students 6th grade to graduation and focus on enrichment and group activities rather than core skills. Popular groups in this age range include Worship Band, physical education, cooking, journalism, art, nutrition, public speaking, book clubs and photography.
High School Only groups are targeted to teens in grades 9th through 12th. These groups are structured to supplement independent home study by offering an assignment schedule, reinforcement of material through class discussion, and additional assignments when appropriate. Curriculum in these groups may be chosen so that each semester can be counted as ½ high school credit and listed on a high school transcript if the student completes all the required assignments. In order to accomplish this, students will often need to begin the curriculum before the semester begins, complete assignments daily, and finish the curriculum after the semester ends.