Short Classes for Spring and Summer

May 8, 2025 | Summer Learning, Unlimited Access

Homeschool Classes Online to Help Fill in Gaps and Keep Learning Alive through Summer. This article is about recorded, self-paced courses. If you prefer LIVE, interactive courses, visit the Homeschool Connections LIVE Course Registration Page, where we have a full slate of summer courses for grades 3 to 12. 

An issue many homeschooling families face is filling in “academic holes” between April and June or over the summer. The eclectic nature of homeschooling means you often wind up with courses of varying lengths—the math book is really long, my child flew through the science text, history class lasts 14 weeks, while literature lasts 12, etc. This can leave gaps in the schedule at the end of the year.

Of course, one of the great things about homeschooling is you don’t have to fill the gaps; you can simply say, “We’re done with that subject for the year!” But sometimes you want to keep the momentum going. Homeschool Connections has a plethora of short courses on Unlimited Access that are fantastic for filling in gaps. Our short courses range from 4 to 8 classes and are ideal for fleshing out subjects that need more depth. Here’s a list of courses we offer through Unlimited Access…

Key: GS = Grade School; MS = Middle School; HS = High School; and # = the number of classes:

American Sign Language (ASL)

• Basic American Sign Language, GS, 4 (LIVE / available in recording 8/4/25)

Art and Music

• Impressionism and Portraits, GS, 8
• Woodcarving Camp, MS, 8
• Drawing with Art Theory, HS, 8
• Intermediate Drawing with Art Theory, HS, 8
• Landscapes: Intermediate Drawing with Art Theory, HS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 10/15/25)
• Photography Bootcamp. HS, 7
• Photography Editing Bootcamp, HS, 8
• Gregorian Chant Camp, HS, 6
• Chanting the Psalms, HS, 8

Computer Skills

• Adobe Photoshop Elements, MS/HS, 4
• Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Elements, MS/HS, 8
• Build Your Own Computer, HS, 6
• Introduction to PowerPoint, HS, 4

Economics

• Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching, HS, 4

German

• Jumping into German, MS, 8

Government

• American Elections: Democracy in Action, HS, 6

History

• Revolution and Civil War: American Spies, Secrets, and Stories, GS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 8/25/25)
• Pirates: The Golden Age, and their World, MS, 8
• California Missions, MS/HS, 8
• Faith in the Fight: Catholic Chaplains in the U.S. Military, MS/HS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 10/15/25)
• The History of Baseball, HS, 6
• The History of Football, HS, 6
• Nuclear and Atomic Accidents, HS, 8
• History of Catholic England, HS, 6
• Foundations of Christian Historiography, HS, 4
• Christian Architecture through the Ages, HS, 4
• The Great Depression: 1929-1941, HS, 4
• Understanding the Second Vatican Council, HS, 4

Latin

• Prayers, Hymns, History: Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin, HS, 6
• Evangelium Domini: Translating Passages from the Latin Gospels, HS, 6

Life Skills

• How to Be an Excellent Student and Get an “A”, MS/HS, 4
• Middle School Typing Camp, MS, 4
• Organized for Success for Middle School, MS, 4
• Organized for Success for High School, HS, 4
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, HS, 4
• Homesteading: Why and How, HS, 4
• How to be Miserable, HS, 8

• Story Explorers: A Literature-Based Adventure Exploring Classic & Modern Tales, GS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 9/29/25)
• Christmas in Literature, Drama, and Music, MS, 6
• Ridiculous Rhymes: Humor and Nonsense in Poetry, MS, 6
• Literature Independent Study, HS, 6
• How to Read Great Literature, HS, 6
• The Odyssey by Homer, HS, 6
• The Iliad by Homer, HS, 6
• The Theban Plays of Sophocles, HS, 6
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, HS, 6
• The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc, HS, 6
• Romanticizing the Middle Ages, HS, 6
• Anglo-Saxon England: Bede and Beowulf, HS, 6
• An Introduction to Dante’s Divine Comedy, HS, 6
• George Orwell Presents: 1984, HS, 6
• Dracula, HS, 6
• Frankenstein: Misunderstood Monster, HS, 6
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, HS, 6
• Christmas with Dickens, HS, 6
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, HS, 6
• Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, HS, 6
• Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, HS, 6
• George Eliot’s Middlemarch, HS, 6
• Gothic Book Club, HS, 4

Literature: G.K. Chesterton

• The Man Who Was Thursday, HS, 7
• Ballad of the White Horse, HS, 8
• G.K. Chesterton: The Complete Thinker, HS, 6
• St. Francis, Asceticism, and Mysticism, HS, 6
• The Everlasting Man, HS, 6
• St. Thomas Aquinas, HS, 6
• Orthodoxy, HS, 6
• Introduction to Gilbert Keith Chesterton, HS, 6
• Common Sense 101 with G.K. Chesterton, HS, 6

Literature: Lewis and Tolkien

• Tolkien for Young Adults: The Theology of Middle-Earth, HS, 6
• Tolkien & Lewis on the After-Life: Leaf by Niggle, The Great Divorce & The Last Battle, HS, 6
• The Hobbit or There and Back Again as Gateway to J.R.R.Tolkien, HS, 7
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, HS, 7
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, HS, 7
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, HS, 7
• C.S. Lewis and The Screwtape Letters, HS, 7

Literature: Poetry

• Grow Your Imagination through Poetry, GS, 4 (LIVE / available in recording 7/7/25)
• Introduction to Stanza Forms: Poetry, HS, 6
• Introduction to Metrical Forms: Poetry, HS, 6
• How to Read a Poem, HS, 6
• Poems Every Catholic Should Know, HS, 6

Literature: Shakespeare

• Shaking Up Shakespeare, MS, 6
• King Lear, HS, 6
• Antony and Cleopatra, HS, 6
• Hamlet, HS, 6
• Romeo and Juliet, HS 6
• Richard II, HS, 6
• Julius Caesar, HS, 6
• Henry V, HS, 7
• Macbeth, HS, 6
• The Merchant of Venice, HS, 6
• King Lear, HS 6

Logic

• The Most Ancient Game: an Introduction to Chess, MS/HS, 6
• The Most Ancient Game: Intermediate Chess, MS/HS, 6
• Critical Thinking, Catholicism, and History, HS, 8
• How to Fail at Logic, HS, 4

Math

• Math Fun! 3/4, GS, 6 (LIVE / available in recording 7/29/25)
• Math Fun! 4/5, GS, 6 (LIVE / available in recording 8/12/25)
• Numbers Party I, MS, 8
• Acing Percentages, Ratios, and Proportions: Math Essentials Boot Camp, MS, 8
• Acing Fractions and the Number System: Math Essentials Boot Camp, MS, 8
• Math Foundations Boot Camp, MS, 8
• Algebra Basics Boot Camp (Prep), HS, 8
• Discovering The WOW Factor in Math (Math Appreciation), HS, 8
• Getting to Know Your TI-84+, HS, 4
• Geometry & Algebra 2 Readiness Boot Camp, HS, 8

Philosophy

• The Philosophy and Apologetics of Beauty, HS, 6
• Hellenistic Philosophy, HS, 6
• Meet Plato: Knowledge, Justice, and the Soul, HS, 8

Science

• Science Fun! Forces 5/6, GS, 6 (LIVE / available in recording 7/29/25)
• Science Fun! Body Works 3/4, GS, 6 (LIVE / available in recording 8/12/25)
• Earth Science: Foundations of Science, GS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 9/22/25)
• On Time: The Science and History of Marking Time, MS, 6
• Water: The Best Molecule, MS, 4
• Grossology, MS, 8
• Bug Camp (Entomology), MS, 8
• The Tick (and Lyme disease), MS, 4
• Come to Your Senses: The Science Behind Your Five Senses, MS, 6
• Health, Fitness, and Wellness, MS, 6
• Science of Star Wars, MS/HS, 8
• DNA & Mutations,HS, 4
• DNA & Basic Genetics, HS, 4
• Pandemic Diseases, HS, 7
• Introduction to Physical Education and Health, HS, 8
• High School Health, Part II: Personal Nutrition, HS, 7
• High School Health, Part I: Personal Fitness, HS, 7
• Sports and Recreation for Everyone, HS, 4

Speech & Communication

• Leadership and Interpersonal Communication, HS 6

Test Prep

• Test-Ready Verbal Reasoning (Classic Learning Test), HS, 6
• Test-Ready Logical Reasoning (Classic Learning Test), HS, 6
• Test-Ready Quantitative Reasoning, HS, 6
• SAT Math Boot Camp, HS, 4
• SAT Verbal Boot Camp, HS, 4

Theology

• The Eucharist as a Highway to Heaven, GS, 8 (LIVE / available in recording 6/23/25)
• Life Lessons from Bl. Carlo Acutis, MS, 6
• Life Lessons from St. Therese, MS, 6
• Life Lessons from St. Padre Pio, MS, 6
• Middle School From Boys to Men: Discovering Life Lessons and Virtues from the Lord of the Rings, MS, 6
• Discovering Your Authentic Beauty & Making Life Full and Fun for Middle School Girls, MS, 6
• High School Level: From Boys to Men: Discovering Life Lessons and Virtues from the Lord of the Rings, HS, 6
• Life Lessons from St. Patrick & the Saints of Ireland, HS, 6
• That They May All Be One: Getting to Know St. Irenaeus, the Doctor of Unity, HS, 6
• The History of the End of the World, HS, 6
• Genesis Deep-Dive, HS, 7
• True Radiance! Discovering Your Authentic Beauty as a Young Woman, HS, 6
• How to Pray, HS, 4
• All About Angels, HS, 6
• Decision Making for Catholic Teens, HS. 6
• Pro-Life Bootcamp, HS, 6
• Jesus Christ: Icon of God, HS, 8
• Pope Saint John Paul II Encyclical: Rich in Mercy (Dives in Misericordia), HS, 6
• Evangelium Vitae: The Bioethics Encyclicals of JPII, HS, 4
• Veritatis Splendor: The Bioethics Encyclicals of JPII, HS, 4
• Total Consecration to Mary, HS, 5
• Called to Covenant: How God Reveals Himself to Us (Old Testament Scripture), HS, 8
• Those Who Have Ears to Hear – Hear This! Unlocking the Mysteries of the Parables of Jesus, HS, 8
• World Religions, HS, 8

Theology: Apologetics

• Answering the Ultimate Protestant Objections on Salvation, Justification, and Purgatory, HS, 7
• Ancient Heresies and Their Modern Counterparts, HS, 7
• High School Theistic Apologetics: Are Science and Religion Enemies, HS, 7
• Christian Apologetics: Jesus the Messiah and Son of God, HS, 7
• The Gospels: Fact or Fantasy? Christian Apologetics, HS, 7
• Fake Religion: Understanding the Freemasons, HS, 8
• Peter and the Papacy, HS, 8
• Hostile Witnesses: What the Enemies of the Church Tell Us About Jesus, HS, 8
• Pseudo-Christian Apologetics: Mormonism, HS, 8
• Pseudo-Christian Apologetics: Jehovah’s Witnesses, HS, 8
• Introduction to the “New Atheism” (Theistic Apologetics), HS, 8

Writing

• Middle School Spelling Boot Camp, GS/MS, 6
• Creative Writing: Creating Stories with Pets and Animals as the Heroes, MS, 4
• MS Writing Essentials Series, MS, 6 classes per course
• MS Simplified Writing Series, MS, 8 classes per course
• Fiction Writing: Creatures, Monsters, and Aliens — Oh My, MS/HS, 4
• High School Spelling Boot Camp, HS, 4
• HS Simplified Writing Series, HS, 6-8 classes per course
• Fiction Writing Series, HS, 4 classes per course
• Essay Test Mastery for College-Bound Students, HS, 8
• Developing Characters series, HS, 4 classes per course
• Write Your Own Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story, HS, 6

Whether you’re looking to fill a short-term academic gap, boost skills in a specific subject, or just keep your child’s mind engaged over the summer, Homeschool Connections Unlimited Access has you covered. With hundreds of recorded, self-paced courses ranging from literature and math to theology and science, there’s something to fit every learner’s needs and schedule. Best of all, your family can learn together on your own time—no pressure, just purpose. Dive in today and let summer learning be as fun, flexible, and fruitful as homeschooling was meant to be!