Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Does your child love plants AND fantasy worlds? Do they wish the magical herbs from their favorite books and games were real? In Fantasy Botany, they get to study them like they are. Students explore the science of real plants through the lens of magical ones, learning actual botany while designing fantastical species with their own properties and lore. It's the perfect course for the kid who wants to be both a wizard and a scientist.
If your student is fascinated by plants, fungi, and fiction, this is the course for them. Plants and fungi so often fade into the background of fictional worlds, and this course brings them to the center of the story.
Students explore how plants and fungi have been depicted across media, sentient and not, and examine how those depictions differ anatomically from real plants and fungi.
Taking what they learn in each session and adding their own detailed research, students design an original, fictional botanical creation that could almost exist.
The result is imagination with roots, invention built on how living things truly work.
Your child learns actual botany and mycology by starting with the plants and fungi they already love from games and movies. That hook makes the real science stick in a way that textbooks rarely achieve. Parents tell us their kids start noticing and identifying real plants and fungi on walks and in their backyard.
The final project asks students to create something original grounded in real science. That combination of independent research and creative design is exactly the kind of project-based learning that gifted students thrive on and that colleges look for. Your child practices it here in a subject they genuinely enjoy.
YSA is a UC-registered online publisher and WASC-accredited Supplementary Education Center, which means our courses can count toward official college credit requirements. State schools can recognize the courses your student takes here, adding real legitimacy to your homeschooling journey or building on top of your student's existing transcript. That unlocks two ways to enroll: For Credit -- Your student earns official, accredited credit toward their transcript. For-credit students complete weekly assignments that build toward their transcript grade. Outside-of-class work ranges from 1-2 hours per week. Perfect for families who want documentation that reflects what their child is actually capable of -- to show the world how brilliant they are. For Enrichment -- Your student takes the very same course purely for the love of learning. No grades, no outside-of-class work, no credit attached. Just the content, the community, and the growth. Same course. Same mentor. Same experience in class. You choose what fits your family.
If you homeschool, this works seamlessly. If your student attends another school full time, we create a report card and transcript that we share with you, and you share with the school. It is up to your primary school to accept it and add it to your student's official transcript.
Study fictional plants and fungi from movies, games, and books, then compare them to real botanical anatomy 
Learn real plant and fungal biology by analyzing how fiction gets it right, gets it wrong, and gets creative 
Discuss their favorite fictional worlds with peers while building genuine botanical knowledge together 
Create their own original fictional plant or fungus, backed by real research and their own creative vision 
Monica enjoys teaching 2E students through a strength based lens, using humor and novelty to grow interest in new topics. She also encourages students to observe the world around them and see nature, games, and art as opportunities to continue learning in all aspects of their lives.
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
Parents don't just see happier kids. They see sharper thinking, stronger friendships, and a child who actually wants to log on.
★★★★★
"Monica helped my daughter invent a plant with real anatomy behind the fantasy. She is endlessly proud of it."
Selena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son never cared about plants until Monica connected them to the fiction he loves. Now he studies both."
Ian P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica helped my daughter invent a plant with real anatomy behind the fantasy. She is endlessly proud of it."
Selena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son never cared about plants until Monica connected them to the fiction he loves. Now he studies both."
Ian P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica makes botany imaginative. My daughter researches real fungi to make her fictional ones believable."
Robin K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The blend of science and storytelling is perfect for my creative kid, and Monica leads it beautifully."
Constance H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica makes botany imaginative. My daughter researches real fungi to make her fictional ones believable."
Robin K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The blend of science and storytelling is perfect for my creative kid, and Monica leads it beautifully."
Constance H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica taught my son how fictional plants differ from real ones, and he has not stopped inventing since."
Emmett D.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter's botanical creation had roots in real research thanks to Monica. Imagination with substance."
Priscilla G.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica taught my son how fictional plants differ from real ones, and he has not stopped inventing since."
Emmett D.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter's botanical creation had roots in real research thanks to Monica. Imagination with substance."
Priscilla G.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica helped my daughter invent a plant with real anatomy behind the fantasy. She is endlessly proud of it."
Selena M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son never cared about plants until Monica connected them to the fiction he loves. Now he studies both."
Ian P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica makes botany imaginative. My daughter researches real fungi to make her fictional ones believable."
Robin K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The blend of science and storytelling is perfect for my creative kid, and Monica leads it beautifully."
Constance H.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica taught my son how fictional plants differ from real ones, and he has not stopped inventing since."
Emmett D.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter's botanical creation had roots in real research thanks to Monica. Imagination with substance."
Priscilla G.
YSA parent
If you’re not 100% in love with the course, you have options depending on how you enrolled:
You can switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit or get a credit to use toward a future course.
You can either get credit toward a future course, switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit, or stop all future payments after a 30-day processing period.
No risk. No stress. Just the learning and belonging you have been looking for.
We can offer this because we know what we do works for thousands of other families. Kids become more self-confident. They find their people. And families tell us this is the place where their student finally feels welcome. We know it will work for your family, too.
All-Access Passes have separate terms and conditions. Please see the All-Access Pass pages.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway... to qualify for the satisfaction guarantee policy, you have to actually attend the classes. This is not a cancellation policy. It’s a satisfaction guarantee. You can’t be satisfied or dissatisfied if you don’t attend.
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that offers one-of-a-kind, engaging enrichment courses and community for 5-18-year-old bright, quirky kids to empower them to develop their strengths, make like-minded friends, cultivate life skills, build confidence, and feel great about themselves under the loving care of expert mentors. description2: >- Picture a place where your child fits in, is celebrated, mentored, and loves learning the unique content their beautiful brain craves. That happens every day at YSA for over 1,200+ families, and it can happen for your family, too.
WASC Accredited · 1,200+ Families · 93% Re-Enroll · 47+ States, 17 Countries, 6 Continents
Learn more about YSAQUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COURSE
Everything you need to know before enrolling your child.
Most online classes put 20-30 kids in a room with a teacher who reads slides. At YSA, your child joins a group of 8 or fewer students who think like they do, led by a mentor who was often once just like them. Cameras are optional. The content is chosen by passion, not grade level. And 93% of families re-enroll - because kids who have never liked school before fight to log on to YSA.
Yes. YSA families join from 47+ states and 17 countries across 6 continents. All you need is an internet connection. We schedule sections across multiple time zones so families worldwide can find a time that works.
Fantasy Botany meets once per week for 50 minutes, every week from August through December. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of up to 8 students and the same mentor all semester long. Same friends, same mentor, a new challenge every week.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. If your student should be aged up or aged down, contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. When a kid is engaged in a course they chose, with a mentor who gets them and peers who share their interests, the screen disappears. They're not on a screen. They're with their people. Parents tell us their children fight to log on to YSA.
If your child isn't loving a course by the end of the first week, swap into a different course. Same semester. No questions. Not the right fit within the first month? We'll stop payments, switch courses, or issue credit toward any future course. The credit never expires. And you keep every bonus you've received. Over 93% of YSA families don't just stay. They add more courses.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable. Our mentors engage every student equally, cameras on or off.
No. If you're here, you're in the right place. We don't require paperwork, evaluations, or labels. Whether your child has been formally identified as gifted or twice-exceptional, whether you suspect it but haven't pursued testing, or whether you just know your kid's brain works differently and nothing else has fit, they're welcome here.
Yes. YSA is an approved vendor with 10+ state ESA programs including Arizona ESA, Utah Fits All, ClassWallet, My Tech High, Florida Step Up, and others. Enroll directly to secure your child's spot, submit the invoice to your ESA, and your payment method is refunded when funds transfer. Many families pay zero out of pocket.
Click "See Available Times" on this page, pick the section that fits your schedule, and your child's spot is secured immediately. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite.
Right now, a kid who thinks like your kid is in a course they chose, with a mentor who was once just like them, surrounded by friends who don't think they're weird... they think they're interesting.
Your child is one click from finding out what that feels like.
An internet connection and a can-do attitude!