I received a free online course from Bridgeway Homeschool Academy and was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
My second grade son LOVES science! If it was up to him, we’d study science all day long. And while I encourage his love of science, I do not always go above and beyond to teach it. Mostly, I can trace this to my training and passion, which lies more in the areas of literacy instead of the math and sciences.
Earlier this year, I learned of the Student Learning Labs live classes from Bridgeway Homeschool Academy and their online homeschool science curriculum. I was eager to try this with my second grader, as I knew it would right up his alley. The first two things that caught my eye when reading the course description for the science class were:
1- the course would be focused on science and taught by a trained teacher who also loves science like my son
2– the course would integrate literacy by using two of the Magic Tree House books, books that my son GOBBLES UP
Bridgeway Homeschool Academy: an Online Homeschool Science Curriculum
For the past 9 weeks, my son has participated in Bridgeway Homeschool Academy’s online science through the Magic Tree House (The Arctic and Antarctic). To say he has thoroughly enjoyed it would be a tremendous understatement. Almost every week, he would remind me on Tuesday morning that he had his online class and on a few days, he even made and ate his own lunch (where has this child been my whole life?) so he could hop on at 12 noon! I asked him to share his favorite parts of the class and he said he had three:
1- He learned with people from all over the world.
2- His teacher (Mrs. Thomas) knew a lot of cool science facts about penguins and polar bears.
3- He loved the projects he got to do (we’ll get to this in a minute).
My Favorites about Bridgeway’s Online Homeschool Science Curriculum
An Experienced Teacher
My son had a very knowledgeable teacher who was passionate about science. (Mrs. Thomas, you rocked it!) Each week, she shared lots of information about the poles of our Earth through videos, photographs, and online articles. Although I did not sit through every class with my son, the times that I did, I noticed quickly that she handled questions from the students very well and also had a great report with the students. Below, you can see just a few of the screenshots from his online classes.
Meaningful Assignments and Projects
This is one of the parts my son enjoyed the most. I am also a big fan of making learning meaningful. Mrs. Thomas’ in-class assignments and the homework assignments were extremely meaningful, helping my son APPLY what he had learned in class.
One of my son’s favorite was the art project he was able to do about Macaroni Penguins. I really liked how she had them share their projects with one another, reading them aloud, which encouraged writing and reading in such a meaningful way. My favorite in-class assignment came when the students used the information they knew about the climate and animals of the Antarctic and create their own animal. Very creative and meaningful!
Literacy Integration
We were also assigned reading throughout the course. The two main books were Polar Bears Past Bedtime and Eve of the Emperor Penguin. Although they were not required reading texts, we also read the non-fiction companions to both books at home (Polar Bears and the Arctic and Penguins and Antarctica) so I could make sure my son understood the concepts.
Mrs. Thomas also used the non-fiction companions in her teaching and I was HIGHLY impressed with the information my son was able to remember while we read together. He thoroughly enjoyed sharing facts about the polar regions at the dinner table and even “testing” his own father to see how much he knew about the topic! {I learned QUITE a few new things myself!}
A Few Questions You May Have…
1. What about the Technical Part? I know you might be thinking the same thing I was when we signed up for an online class: what about the technical part? The only thing we had to purchase was a set of headphones. I literally just plugged them in and we were good to go! We did have one session in which the microphone on our headset did not work, but the tech support was amazing. Within 30 minutes of contacting her, she had me up and running again without a glitch. So don’t the technical part of an online class keep you away. If I can do it, anyone can!
2. What if We Miss a Class? I found the online class to be extremely flexible. There were a couple of classes we couldn’t attend for various reasons. The classes are recorded and you can log in and watch them at any time so your child doesn’t miss a thing!
3. What Ages Can Take the Classes? The online courses from Bridgeway Homeschool Academy are offered for Elementary, Middle, and High School students, starting with grade 1. My son’s class was offered for elementary grades (grades 1-5), so he had some students in his class that were older than him. I loved how Mrs. Thomas differentiated her assignments, expecting more from the upper grade students and what was appropriate from the younger ones. She was clear in her syllable and course assignments what was expected from each age.
4. How Do I Sign Up? The best part about these online classes is that they are offered on an ongoing basis. The next session starts September 22 and there’s already a GREAT line up! You can check them out for yourself HERE. And the best part is, if you sign up for a Learning Lab before May 30, 2014, you’ll receive $20 off when you use promo code IHN514 at checkout! Yay for discount codes!
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~Becky
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