Online Enrichment for Curious Kids

Looking for more options for a curious kid? Here is a quick reference list of possibilities for either supplementing your traditional education, or utilizing in a homeschool environment. I hope something is helpful!

Various Online Programs

• Royal Fireworks Press Online Learning (Writing, English, Science, History, Math, Philosophy, World Religions, Latin, Spanish, French, Arts) Specializing in programs for gifted and 2e learners, RFP offers a wonderful array of online courses. Home to the well-known “Michael Clay Thompson” and other homeschool curricula. For students whose interests or needs are specialized, they offer individualized one-on-one instruction opportunities, as well. For instance, I noticed an individualized Creative Writing Course that sounds intriguing.
• Science is Weird (Science, Reading) Brandon teaches the science class, offered live or through recordings. His style is humorous, honest and dynamic. The presentation is friendly to learning disabilities and asynchronous learners. In addition to science, he offers some great reading comprehension classes that utilize Calvin & Hobbes plus other comics and graphic novels as text books. I promise, Calvin has a LOT to teach us!
• Science Mom (Science, Math) Self-paced courses covering 4th grade through middle school science such as biology, astronomy, chemistry and physics. They also offer middle school math courses.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium (Marine Science) The Monterey Aquarium has developed free online, asynchronous courses in marine science. If this is your child’s interest, don’t be afraid to try a course intended for a higher grade.
• Online G3 (Science, Literature, Writing, Government, History) Online G3 is a program intended for gifted learners. Sign up according to the child’s ability, not age. Classes range from Dystopian Literature (a fave in our house!) to Physics. They also offer supports each semester for one course in the ASU Universal Learner program.
• Athena’s Advanced Academy (Science, History, Writing, Philosophy, Latin, Government and more) is a program for gifted and twice exceptional students. You sign your child up by ability, not age. So, an 8 year old can happily participate in middle school chemistry, while a 10 year old enjoys high school literature, and a 14 year old delves into conceptual physics. It is put to you and your child. Cameras are always “off” during live sessions, which is a bonus for camera-shy learners. Take a herpetology course, a creative writing class, philosophy and more. You can choose to participate live or watch recordings. There is homework, but they flex for each family to decide how much of the homework is right for their learner.
• Young Scholars Academy (STEM, Writing, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Arts, Gaming, and more) YSA, a program designed for twice exceptional kids, stands out for small class sizes. They have a high level of communication and will send you a reminder message if you forget to log on- very helpful for busy and scattered families. Science courses include STEM (robotics) and AI, science inventors, programming, science explorers. In robotics, I was really impressed with the teacher’s ability to talk kids through trouble shooting their robots at home. That is no easy feat.
• Laurel Springs (Core subjects plus some enrichment offerings) This is an accredited, rigorous online private school that offers an option for signing up for individual courses.
• Seven Hills Online Classical School (Latin, Greek, History, Philosophy, Ancient Literature)- Wes is a great teacher. We have enjoyed the literature discussions. Small, discussion-based classes. My daughter is hoping to take the course on Pompeii soon.
• ASU Universal Learners (Science, English, History, Technology, Communications and more, college credit option.) These are asynchronous online college classes through Arizona State University. It has a pretty simple admissions process that is very accessible for younger learners. Something that makes the Universal Learner program unique is that you can decide once the class is completed if you want to transcript it or not. Made an A? Put it on your college transcript! Made a C? Perhaps you would like to retake it before you transcript it. So, it is a low-stakes way to try a college course. On the student’s transcript, it will look just like any of Arizona State’s regular in-person courses. Nothing differentiates it. Science courses include marine biology, environmental science, biology, chemistry, astronomy. Utilize this for dual enrollment or just take a course for fun.
• Literature at our House (Lit, Writing, Art Appreciation) Classes are held during the day but recordings are available for asynchronous learners.
• Brilliant. (multi-subjects) This is so fun! With a subscription, your child can explore all kinds of subject material presented in a visual-learning style. Algebra. Quantum physics. It is not a full high school level course, but a nice overview. You might enjoy it, too!

Math Options

• Math Circles: The idea of the math circle is not just to cover regular math concepts, but to give kids interested in math a peer group where they can be challenged together with extension math concepts and ideas. The only drawback we found was that the circles tend to be pretty big. My homeschooled son is accustomed to smaller, cozy group sizes. But people tend to love these programs. Since everyone joining tends to be advanced in math, they will likely have your child start in their regular grade and go from there.
• Links
  • Berkeley Math Circle– Highly regarded, outside-the-box group work. Downside is 30 kids in a group.
  • Engaging Math Circle– Much smaller class size but we have not tried this one. I’m curious as it looks a little more like it is covering a year’s math curriculum rather than being a traditional extracurricular extended-thinking program. They also offer contest math prep that sounds like it has more extended thinking work.
  • Stanford Math Circle– Highly regarded. 25 kids in a group. Outside the box, extended thinking.
• Online Asynchronous/Self-Paced Math Programs:
  • Beast Academy For elementary school-aged children, we loved this program! It is geared towards math-loving gifted kids. So, it isn’t for everyone. They usually allow a one-week free trial. The learning style is creative and outside-the-box. When an elementary aged child is bored with traditional school math, this can be a great one to set up at school. Advocate to allow your child to work on Beast Academy while students are learning math that your child has already fully mastered. Just be aware when placing your child, the levels don’t line up directly with grade levels. After level 5, the child is fully prepared to start pre-algebra.
  • Khan Academy This is a FREE online program. It actually offers more than math. Tip: don’t expect your child to get a “perfect” score to move on to the next section. This is too frustrating as they need a tiny bit of room for error. For instance, when there is a cluster of 5 questions, if they get 4 out of 5 correct then go on to the next section.
  • IXL Paid subscription, includes other subjects in addition to math. Like Khan academy, it works better if you don’t demand perfect scores. Otherwise you can get stuck and momentum gets slowed down.
  • Thinkwell Go-at-your-own pace videos, quizzes and tests with a mastery focus. Clear instruction. Additional optional practice available. You have the ability to jump straight to quizzes or tests when you already know the information.
  • Art of Problem Solving AOPS is the next step after Beast Academy and offers self-paced as well as live online courses.

Languages other than English

• Royal Fireworks Press offers courses in Latin, Spanish and French.
• Mr D Math for ASL We have enjoyed ASL with Mr. D’s program. It is asynchronous so you can work on it whenever is good for you, but there are also help sessions. Teacher Thia’s videos are very clear. She gives optional extra projects as well- for instance, we learned how to sign the first song from Hamilton.
• Preply With Preply, you are matched with a private teacher for one-on-one language tutoring. It is easy to try a teacher and then make a switch if that one is not a perfect fit. We have found the pricing reasonable, and have utilized Spanish, Mandarin and Chinese for myself and my kids.
• italki italki works in a similar fashion to Preply and I have heard it recommended. We have not personally used this platform.
• Seven Hills Online Classical School Latin and Greek.

Art Options

• Galactic Fiber Art Sheila, the artist and owner of Galactic Fiber Art, is simply lovely. She offers group classes or you can book private lessons. She curates packages of high quality, beautiful art supplies and these are shipped to you for your classes. Sheila has a special place in my heart because we found her and set up private lessons for my mother, an accomplished artist. Sheila worked patiently with my mother as Nancy journeyed through terminal brain cancer. Nancy even continued lessons while in the ICU and needed me to help keep the brush gripped in her hand. Sheila is also wonderful with kids, and welcomes all types of learners. She teaches drawing, painting, knitting, crochet, tie dying, natural fiber dying, rug hooking and more.
• The Animation Course– Chad Stewart offers classes in drawing and animation. It isn’t just a class- this can become a long-term cohort of passionate students. His work can be seen in a number of Disney films. Homeschoolers will love that he and his wife are a homeschooling family. Mr. Stewart also gives guidance to students and families around the college and career process for aspiring animators.

Gifted Programs Requiring Test Scores

• CTY: John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
• Davidson Young Scholars Program
• Both are specific to gifted students, and require testing for admission. See their sites for specific testing information. The classes are robust, rigorous, and pricey.

Apps and other resources worth a mention:

• Dragon Box Algebra and Dragon Box Geometry. A visual-based introduction to algebra and geometry. Dyslexia or non-reading friendly after a little help from a parent.
• ABRSM Music Theory App
• My bog post covering reading lists, magazines, podcasts for bright kids
• My blog covering writing supports and ideas
• Crash Course and Crash Course Kids on Youtube. These cover various subjects at a high level! It is a great format for neurodivergent families. Just make sure the video is age appropriate. The regular Crash Course episodes assume a high school level of subject maturity. Younger kids may love them but use your discretion.
• Kurzgesagt: In a Nutshell. The group specializes in introducing complex topics in very approachable and dynamic ways. Take a look! It is great!
• Community College Dual Enrollment– ASU Universal Learners is a great first step for younger learners since you can decide to transcript at the end and also because they don’t have any push-back about young ages. But, don’t forget about your state’s community college system. Your child might not be ready to do in-person, but there are asynchronous and live online class options. Age requirements vary by state. We have done community college classes starting at age 13, but I know others who have started earlier. A tip- start with a class that is in your child’s area of passion and expertise. Give them a nice soft-ball lob to allow their first experience to be a success. Don’t forget for 2e learners, the student can contact the disabilities office to request appropriate accommodations. For CC, all contact with the school will be through your child. (If you have a question and need to call, your child will need to talk to the admin, not you.) So, that can be a helpful deciding factor for whether your child is ready for community college classes. Don’t forget that for online, you don’t have to be restricted to your local community college system. If your child loves digital photography and you discover classes in a program in a different city, you can still easily register for that community college. Typically, students in high school and below get last priority, so have a little patience and try to have a back-up plan in case your preferred class fills up. It also helps if you set a clock and register as soon as it opens. Sometimes families can be worried that if the child takes too many college classes, they will lose their freshman status for applying to scholarships later. At the time of me publishing this, as long as the child is not yet graduated from high school, they will be granted freshman status. So, even if they have 36 hours of college credit, as long as it is dual enrollment and they have not yet graduated from high school, they will not be penalized. Keep that in mind though, if a child graduates high school early and after graduation takes additional college classes, they will then be considered a college transfer student instead of a freshman.
• PROTIP: Keep in mind that internet programs on platforms such as YouTube have ads. For kids, consider viewing with them. I highly recommend paying for an ad-free family subscription if you utilize YouTube. Ads can go off the rails sometimes, and this gives you an added measure of safety. Nothing is really free. Pay with money or pay with ad exposure planned out by the YouTube minions. Last tip: keep internet devices in the common areas of the home. That means iPads, Chromebooks and smart phones stay in the living room or at the kitchen table, etc. Keep them out of the bedrooms and bathrooms. Have devices charge overnight out of the bedrooms, as well. You’ll thank me later! 🙂

Enjoy!

~Christina