MyFunScience.com: Live Online STEM Class for Homeschoolers

Sometimes I discover a homeschooling resource so exciting that I start telling people about it in person long before I publish the actual review. MyFunScience.com is one of those resources. I was telling friends about it at the last homeschool convention I attended.

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There are a few reasons that I’m so excited about MyFunScience.com, but one of the biggest is that it fills a need in the homeschooling community. It provides high-quality, live, online STEM courses for middle school and high school students.

What Is MyFunScience.com?

MyFunScience.com is a site offering live, online STEM classes for homeschoolers from a Christian worldview. You probably know, but in case you don’t, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. And, when your kids hit middle school and high school age, those can be intimidating for a lot of parents.

With MyFunScience.com, your teens can take those upper-level classes in a live classroom setting and ask their questions in person (well, on screen). And you don’t have to teach them. Taught from a Christian worldview, all of the class recordings I saw started with prayer requests and opening prayer.

We weren’t able to fully experience the live classes because the second semester was already in progress and all classes were full. However, we did get to watch recorded versions of several classes.

What Are the Benefits of MyFunScience.com Online Classes?

Set class times provide accountability. Someone tell me that it isn’t just me. Self-paced courses – even those we do at home – are easy to put off or even allow to fall by the wayside. Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to get behind.

I’ve said many times that I don’t think we’d have finished our government class if we hadn’t done it as a co-op with some friends.

A live, online course provides a much greater sense of accountability knowing that class happens at a set day and time each week whether you’re there or not.

It covers difficult-to-teach subjects. MyFunScience.com offers science courses such as biology, chemistry, and physics. There are also upper-level math courses, along with engineering and technology classes and general education classes. Some of these classes are difficult for parents to teach because we found them confusing when we were students.

I’m most excited about biology (which Megan may take in the fall), the life skills class (which she will definitely take in the fall), and psychology (my favorite course from high school and one that I’d love my kids to take).

The life skills class covers some topics that I could easily teach on my own, like laundry and cooking basics. However, it also covers topics that I could stand to learn myself, like:

• Gardening and food preservation
• Plumbing basics
• Household maintenance (water heaters, furnaces, gutters)
• Electricity basics
• Car maintenance – changing the oil and fixing a flat tire

A live instructor can answer student questions. When kids take a live online course, they can ask the instructor their questions. This is particularly helpful when it’s a topic you find confusing or difficult.

And the instructor probably doesn’t even have to make the student wait while she Googles the answer. {gasp}

Live courses allow students to work independently. I mean, I guess technically they’re not working independently (as in on their own), but they don’t need you there for a whole 90 minutes. That means you can work one-on-one with another child, do some exercise, get dinner ready, or just sit on the couch eating bonbons and watching talk shows like people think we do.

The classes provide a group setting without leaving home. The kids in the classes can interact with each other and the instructor through a chat window. In the classes I observed, the kids were asking one another about their spring break and other chit chat before class. You know, socializing.

During the class, they can all participate in group discussions. That’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to when Megan takes a class or two because I’ve seen the benefits during our co-op. Group discussion provides different perspectives and unique points that you don’t get from a textbook.

Live online courses teach kids accountability to someone other than a parent. The students have reading assignments outside their online class time and homework that they’re expected to turn in to their instructor. It’s important for middle school and high school students to learn to meet the deadlines and academic requirements of an instructor other than a parent.

What Are the Features of MyFunScience.com Courses?

The courses rely on easy-to-use platforms. The courses I previewed used Adobe Connect or Blackboard Collaborate. Both are free downloads that are similar in set up. Both feature a video screen where the students can see and hear the instructor, a chat window for students, and a window where the instructor can show PowerPoint-style slides or images, or she can write or type out things for the class.

Students receive a certificate of completion. Upon successfully completing each course, students will receive a certificate of completion. This certificate comes in handy for filling out progress reports, filing with umbrella schools, backing up transcripts, having reviewed, or whatever your state homeschooling laws require.

There are breaks during the classes. Our family hasn’t used a lot of online classes, but none of the ones we did offered a break. That’s a nice feature for someone with a bladder the size of a walnut. The break gives students a chance to go to the bathroom, get a drink, or chat. It also breaks up the class making it easier to focus because, y’all, I’m an adult and I have trouble focusing for a full 90 minutes at a time.

The classes are recorded. It’s all but inevitable that students are going to miss a class at some point. I mean, it’s not like there is a Universal Homeschool Schedule after all. Because the classes are recorded, students don’t have to worry about getting behind when there are scheduling conflicts.

The features and benefits of MyFunScience.com make it an excellent resource for homeschooling families. I’m so excited about it! Maybe my kid will see some of your kids in class next fall.

What MyFunScience courses most interest you?

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