Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Enter a world of magic, where unicorns, dragons, and other imaginary creatures are all around us! We'll let our imaginations guide us on our journey. This course will introduce your curious child an array of fantastic creatures within their cultural, historical, and even scientific contexts. By draw
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Enter a world of magic, where unicorns, dragons, and other imaginary creatures are all around us! We'll let our imaginations guide us on our journey. This course will introduce your curious child an array of fantastic creatures within their cultural, historical, and even scientific contexts. By drawing upon young students' boundless imaginations, each class will encourage students to observe and discuss mythologies, legends, symbols, and cultural themes from around the world. Each meeting, a brief lesson will be presented about a featured mythical creature: what it looks like, what special powers (if any) it possesses, what culture(s) it belongs to, and it's legendary origins. As we hone our observation skills by examining illustrations of the creature together, we will discuss any noticeable special attributes of these fantastic creatures. Once we have shared our observations, students will color or draw the creature in their "Field Guide" journal and label it. Weekly printed fact sheets will be provided, which students may cut out and add to their journals, plus a coloring page for students who are not as adventurous about drawing on their own. In addition to completing our journal entries, class time will be spent exchanging creature facts and lore, sharing favorite fantasy-inspired toys and books, and generally "geeking out" about imaginary worlds and magical creatures together. We will also intermittently play related interactive games or engage in themed movement activities. Students will be encouraged to bring something "magical" to share each week, and will also occasionally be provided with extension activities between meetings. In each short, introductory lesson, students will learn about the weekly featured creature through a variety of approaches, such as read aloud stories, informative slides, video clips, and graphics, and more. We will also intermittently add playful learning activities such as: building and sculpting, movement activities, games, discussion, repetition and more. Vocabulary words such as observe, investigate, legend, fiction, mythology, culture, origin, mythical, geography, parts of the globe, and more will be introduced and used during these interactive, engaging lessons. All lessons will be age-appropriate in content and themes. While the main focus of this weekly club will be on allowing young fantasy enthusiasts to share their love of magical beings, we will also be practicing important primary-age social and educational skills as we learn about habitats, adaptation, and other STEAM concepts. The short creature lesson at the beginning will provide a framework for these discussions and will help the young explorer to build and develop observation, recreation, and communication skills, as well as to foster curiosity, wonder, and interest in the world around them--big and small, real and imagined. The "Field Guide" we create will serve as a fun keepsake and reference for future fantasy studies and reflection.
Part 1 Creatures: Manticore Dragon Gryphon Ratatoskr Kraken Medusa Werewolf Sea Serpent Chimera Get ready for an adventure of epic proportions!
The thinking, collaboration, and confidence your child builds in this course do not stay in the classroom. Parents consistently tell us they see the difference at home, at school, and in social situations. When learning is driven by genuine interest, the growth is real and lasting.
For gifted and 2e kids, finding a place where they feel understood can change everything. This course surrounds your child with peers who think like they do and a mentor who celebrates what makes them different. Parents tell us this is the first program where their child truly felt at home.
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.
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.
This camp meets Monday through Friday, roughly 50 minutes a day, for one week. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of 6–8 students and the same mentor all week long. Same friends, same teacher, a new adventure every day. These aren't strangers. By Tuesday, they have inside jokes. By Thursday, they're texting after camp. If your child takes 3 or more camps in a week, they unlock access to the Virtual Campus during the 11:00 AM Pacific lunch break — a supervised hangout where kids eat lunch together as avatars and build friendships that last far beyond the summer.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. A 9-year-old who devours college-level history content doesn't belong in a course designed for kids who've never heard of the Roman Empire. If your student should be aged up or aged down, please contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We'd be happy to help override the system and find the right fit. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. A student who is completely fried from a boring Zoom class at school is often quick to pick up a tablet or phone, right? Our camps are not the same animal. When a kid is doing Minecraft Redstone Engineering or arguing a criminal case in Mock Trial with 6 peers who share their exact obsession, taught by a mentor who was one of these kids, 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. That's not something they say about school.
Summer Camp Satisfaction Guarantee: If your child isn't loving this camp by the end of Day 1, you have two easy options. Transfer into another camp that week to find the perfect fit, or receive a credit to use toward a future camp or course. No risk. No stress. No awkward conversations. We built this guarantee because we've watched hundreds of kids walk into their first YSA session unsure, and walk out asking when the next one is. But if it's not the right fit, we'd rather help you find one that is than keep your money for something that isn't working.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable, which sometimes takes a day and sometimes takes a whole semester. For kids with sensory sensitivities, social anxiety, or demand avoidance profiles, this isn't a small thing. It's the difference between showing up and shutting down. Our mentors are trained to engage every student equally, cameras on or off. Your child will never be forced, never singled out, and never penalized.
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. Many of our families discover what twice-exceptional means after they've already been with us. The community helps them understand their child in a way no assessment ever could.
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. We walk you through every step.
Click the enroll button on this page. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite. Your child's spot is secured immediately. If you need help building a full summer schedule, use Scheduley AI for personalized camp recommendations, or email support@youngscholarsacademy.org and we'll help you put together a week your kid will actually be excited about.
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.
