Why Homeschool Science Online Might Be Right For Your High Schooler

I’m not sure I’ll forget the day a group of us decided to get the dissecting part of Biology done in my friend’s dining room. I think I can still smell the formaldehyde 🐸. I know for some that would be a great memory. Let’s just say, for me, not so much. I think it may have been a good idea for us to do some homeschool science online during those high school years.

This is a sponsored post. I was compensated for my time. All opinions are honest, and I was not required to post a positive review. This post contains an affiliate link. You can read my disclosure here.

Often when people hear about homeschooling, they think of kids sitting around the table with their mother doing all of the teaching. But that’s not what it looks like in every home (actually not any that I personally knew of), especially as children enter their teen years. There’s a lot of value in mixing it up a bit—courses taught by other parents, online courses, co-op classes, and, of course, sitting around the table or the living room together.

One of the subjects I wish I had thought about outsourcing for at least one year was science. Not because what we did was terrible—we actually learned a lot during those years—but because it would have benefited them to do a college preparatory class like the ones offered by College Prep Science.

Homeschool Science Online with College Prep Science

Your students can benefit in a variety of ways when taking online homeschool courses. Online courses offer students the chance to learn to be more independent, an essential skill for college bound students. They’re responsible to someone besides you when it comes to completing assignments. And if they are like my kids, they enjoy a variety of different types of learning.

In the case of College Prep Science, they’ll also have the opportunity to learn from someone who is passionate about the subject. Greg Landry is a former college professor with 20+ years of experience teaching science. You’ll find more information about Greg and his heart for teaching homeschool students (he’s a homeschool dad himself) on his about page, but this particular paragraph stood out to me:

He has a heart for students and a passion for science… but more specifically a passion for teaching students to see God’s hand in every aspect of His creation that surrounds us—to help them see that God’s creation didn’t just happen by chance—it wasn’t an accident, a fluke of nature.

I love that, since it was one of the things I desired most in my kids science education—to appreciate and love the One who created it all.

What is College Prep Science

College Prep Science offers Christ-centered, live online classes for sixth through twelfth grade homeschooled students. (And if your student can’t attend the online classes live, it’s not a problem! The class is recorded and they can watch when it works for your family! Though it is recommended that they should watch the class recording every week if possible.)

Online classes include:

Biology – College Prep (9th-12th)
Life Prep Biology (8th-12th)
Chemistry – College Prep (10th-12th)
Life Prep Chemistry (9th-12th)
Physics – College Prep (10th-12th)
Life Prep Physics (9th-12th)
Human Anatomy & Physiology (9th-12th)
Exercise and Sports Physiology (8th-12th)
Pre-Anatomy & Physiology (6th-9th)
Pre-Chemistry (6th-9th)
Pre-Biology (6th-9th)
Pre-Physics (6th-9th)
Forensic Science & Human Anatomy (8th-12th)
Embryology – The Magnificence of Human Development (9th-12th)
Introduction to Biochemistry / Microbiology (9th-12th)

Lab Intensives

They also offer multiple, in person, lab intensives. The two day intensives give your students the chance to complete one year of labs in just two days for either Biology/Anatomy & Physiology or Chemistry. And three day labs are offered if your child needs to complete both. (Obviously I should have taken advantage of one of these since I “love” the smell of formaldehyde so much 😬 🐸). You’ll find a list of intensives on the Science Lab Intensives page.

If your teens can’t attend one of the intensives, no problem! There are labs included in the homeschool online science courses.

We use a high quality virtual lab service (we subscribe to it – there is no cost to students) that allows students to perform very realistic labs online. Most public schools now use virtual labs. Students are able to actually perform tasks in the lab – It’s a very realistic experience for students who are able to experience and participate in many labs not typically possible before college for high school students. Students are able to virtually pour liquids and chemicals, light burners, move things in the lab, weigh things, measure temperatures, record results, etc.

Homeschool Science Online with Real Books

If you’ve read my blog for long, you know I’m a big fan of using real books in education. Yes, this is an online class, but that doesn’t mean your kids won’t be using real books in it too. Check out the books used in the various classes:

Science Shepherd Biology, Dr Scott Hardin
In Six Days – Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation, John Ashton
Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology, Valerie Scanlon and Tina Sanders
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr Paul Brand and Phillip Yancey
Prentice Hall Chemistry, Wilbraham, Staley, Matta, Waterman
Elements: A Visual Exploration of every Known Atom in the Universe, Theodore Gray and Nick Mann
Conceptual Physics, Paul Hewitt
Magnitude – The Scale of the Universe, Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke
Biochemistry: A Short Course, John Tymoczko
Microbiology with Diseases by Body System, Robert Bauman
The Developing Human – Clinically Oriented Embryology, Moore, Persaud, Torchia
Beyond the Body Farm – A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science, Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
Forensics for Dummies, Lyle
Mosby’s Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Book, Mosby
Physiology of Sport and Exercise, W. Larry Kenney

We used Elements: A Visual Exploration of every Known Atom in the Universe in our homeschool and it was wonderful! Filled with gorgeous photography, it made the Periodic Table come to life.

Homeschool ACT Prep

Homeschool sciences aren’t the only online courses Mr. Landry offers. He also teaches an ACT Prep Online Bootcamp to help students improve their ACT scores so they can work toward getting into the college of their choice, and hopefully earn significant scholarships in the process.

Coming Soon

Mr. Landry also plans on launching few things in August:

Podcast called Homeschool Moms Science Podcast geared toward helping homeschool moms to teach science.
Homeschool Science Research Journal for Homeschooled 8th – 12th grade students
Homeschool Science Art Journal for Homeschooled 8th – 12th grade students