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 group leaders to provide the most interesting and informative groups for the children in our program. However, we cannot reach any of our objectives without volunteer group leaders – our members ultimately determine what groups we will offer each semester.

Nursery/Preschool Department
Children that have not yet turned 5 by September 1 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), Praying Mantis (3’s) and Walking Sticks (4’s) provide preschool activities facilitated by a member 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 age 5 to 7 (see Registration Policy for specific birth dates). Groups in this department have a maximum five 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 age 8 to 10 (see Registration Policy for specific birth dates). 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 children from age 11 up to graduation (see Registration Policy for specific birth dates). We offer three different kinds of groups in this department.

Middle School Only groups include children age 11 to 13 only, typically focus on core skills, and are designed to help prepare middle school children 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 children age 11 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 10-12 but are open to any teen age 14 and up. 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 is 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.

We plan to offer four High School Only groups each semester. The four groups will include one literature, one worldview/ apologetics group, and two high school electives.

In the summer of 2010 we implemented a three-year rotation designed so that we will not repeat any High School Only groups within the three years (with the possible exception of worldview) so that high school students will have the opportunity to take a different course at SEEK every semester during their high school. High School Only groups generally do not fill to capacity, so returning member high school students can be confident that they will be able to enroll in the group of their choice.

Literature Rotation Schedule:
2013-2014: American Literature
2014-2015: British Literature
2015-2016: World Literature

https://homeschool.shepherds.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SEEK-Policies-and-Procedures-1.pdf

These are the registration policies for both new and returning families.

Training Meetings

SEEK holds two Training Meetings. The purpose of each Training Meeting is to discuss SEEK policy information and to collect required registration forms. The first meeting will be for ALL Returning Members and the second for New Members (waiting list). Please do not bring children other than nursing babies to training meetings if possible. Refer to the Calendar on the SEEK homepage for training meeting date information.

Payment

Complete payment must be received at registration to reserve a space for your family. Please note that we cannot issue refunds after registration meetings.

Online Submission of Class Preferences

Returning Members and New Members are required to submit their group preferences ONLINE prior to registration. The order in which you submit your preferences ONLINE will not determine the order that your registration is processed. The submission form will be available via the SEEK Portal for a specified period of time, and changes can be made to your information at any time during that period. However, once that period has ended all submissions are final and no changes will be allowed, so rank your choices carefully. See specific meeting details below for registration information. Members will be notified via email when the form becomes available.

Participation Guidelines

SEEK is a co-op that requires the participation of parents; therefore, a family is only allowed to register their own children and/or foster children. Parents may not register children that do not reside with them, even if the parent is operating a DNPE two-family homeschool.

Department Age Ranges:

Children must register in the correct age group according to birth-date. The 2019-2020 cut-off dates by department are as follows:

• Nursery and Preschool (0-4 years old) 9/1/2016 to present
• Early Elementary (5-7 years old) – 9/1/2013 to 8/31/2016
• Elementary (8-10 years old) – 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2013
• Middle School (11-13 years old) – 9/1/2007 to 8/31/2010
• High School (14-18 years old) – prior to 8/31/2007

Returning Member (Leaders/Non-Leaders) Registration Meeting Information

1. Prior to the meeting, the committee will process Class Leader ONLINE submissions. Class Leader families will be processed before Member families. Leader family registration order will be determined by a computer-generated random lottery process.
2. Once Class Leaders have been registered, then the remaining current membership will be registered. Order will be determined by a computer-generated random lottery process.
3. Training Meetings for ALL Returning Members are MANDATORY except for travel or illness. Failure to attend may lead to loss of membership.

New Member (Waiting List) Training Meeting Information

1. Training Meetings for New Members are MANDATORY with no exceptions – one parent must attend to register in SEEK.
2. Waiting List families must submit group preferences ONLINE to remain on the list. Any families that do not submit will be removed from the list and will not be eligible to register. However, ONLINE submission does not guarantee registration.
3. After all current SEEK members have registered, the committee will determine how many spaces are available for New Members. If space is available for your family, you will be notified via email prior to New Member Training and invited to attend the meeting in order to finalize registration.
4. Please note: Families who worship regularly at The Shepherd’s Church will receive priority in registration.

Who do I contact for more information?

Send questions to director@seekatshepherds.org