Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Does your child want to get their hands in the dirt and grow something real? This full-length horticulture course takes students from seed to harvest, covering everything from soil science and plant biology to garden design and troubleshooting when things don't go as planned. Students learn by actually growing alongside their peers, sharing progress, and solving problems together. It's science, patience, and pride all rolled into one living project.
If your student knows they want to grow a garden and has the resources to do so, this is the course for them. Across the year, they move from a well-researched plan to seedlings in the ground.
During the fall semester, students learn how to establish a decorative, food, or wildlife garden and create an actionable plan based on research for their local area, including environmental conditions, plant choices, fertilizing, and pest control.
In the spring, students refine their plans to meet their goals within a budget. They prepare the ground, start seedlings, and learn to notice problems early, sharing both the struggles of getting started and the joy of watching their plans take shape.
Over two semesters, students build observational skills, focused research, sequential planning, budgeting, time management, pest and disease ID, and hands-on plant maintenance.
It is the full journey, from the first sketch of an idea to a living garden your student tended themselves.
A garden does not let you skip steps or cut corners. Your child learns to plan ahead, stay consistent, and respond to unexpected challenges, all skills that transfer directly to schoolwork, long-term projects, and life. Parents tell us gardening teaches their kids a kind of patience and persistence that nothing else has managed to.
When your child watches a seed they planted become something real, the biology, chemistry, and ecology behind it stop being abstract. This course makes science tangible and personal. Parents love that their kids develop a genuine connection to the natural world and a new understanding of where food comes from.
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.
Learn the full process of growing a garden, from initial planning through soil preparation, planting, and ongoing care 
Build research skills by investigating local environmental conditions, plant varieties, fertilizing methods, and pest control 
Share progress and problem-solve with fellow gardeners, learning from each other's successes and challenges across different climates 
Develop patience, responsibility, and the satisfaction of growing something real with their own hands and knowledge 
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.
★★★★★
"My daughter started seedlings this spring after planning all fall with Monica. Watching her garden grow has been magical."
Fiona L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica took my son from a plan on paper to real plants in the ground. The budgeting lessons alone were worth it."
Raj P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter started seedlings this spring after planning all fall with Monica. Watching her garden grow has been magical."
Fiona L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica took my son from a plan on paper to real plants in the ground. The budgeting lessons alone were worth it."
Raj P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The full year with Monica taught my daughter patience, planning, and how to spot problems early."
Gwendolyn M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica celebrated the struggles as much as the successes. My son learned that gardening, like life, takes time."
Andre W.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The full year with Monica taught my daughter patience, planning, and how to spot problems early."
Gwendolyn M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica celebrated the struggles as much as the successes. My son learned that gardening, like life, takes time."
Andre W.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"By spring my daughter was identifying pests and diseases like a pro, all thanks to Monica."
Simone K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica guided my kid from dreaming about a garden to actually tending one. Incredible growth in both."
Nathaniel R.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"By spring my daughter was identifying pests and diseases like a pro, all thanks to Monica."
Simone K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica guided my kid from dreaming about a garden to actually tending one. Incredible growth in both."
Nathaniel R.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter started seedlings this spring after planning all fall with Monica. Watching her garden grow has been magical."
Fiona L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica took my son from a plan on paper to real plants in the ground. The budgeting lessons alone were worth it."
Raj P.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The full year with Monica taught my daughter patience, planning, and how to spot problems early."
Gwendolyn M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica celebrated the struggles as much as the successes. My son learned that gardening, like life, takes time."
Andre W.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"By spring my daughter was identifying pests and diseases like a pro, all thanks to Monica."
Simone K.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Monica guided my kid from dreaming about a garden to actually tending one. Incredible growth in both."
Nathaniel R.
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.
Horticulture: Grow a Garden Full Course 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.
Ability to photograph your planned garden area