
Biology with Honors Option
Course options: Live or Asynchronous
Grade: 9th-12th (13+) | Will accept advanced 8th graders (12+)
Course dates: August 17, 2026 to May 7, 2027
Course length: Traditional, full year
Live sessions - attendance required: (choose 1)
Section 1: Wednesdays | 4-5:30 p.m. Eastern
Section 2: Thursdays | 2-3:30 p.m. Eastern
Course size:
Live: 18 students/section
Asynchronous: 10 students
Instructor: Bekah Hilton
Costs:
Tuition: Live: $795 | Async: $755
Digital Website Access: $50 (includes course eBook)
Custom lab kit: ~$95 (with physical dissection materials)
Course Details
Biology is a live, lab-science course designed for high school homeschoolers, with Honors and Asynchronous options. In this course, students will learn how our understanding of biology has developed over the ages, and they will consider its impact--both personal and societal--in the 21st century.
Live Sessions: Students will meet weekly with their instructor and classmates for 90 minutes to discuss topics covered in weekly lessons, collaborate with their classmates, and ask questions. Students attend and actively participate in live classes weekly with cameras on.
Honors option: Students who wish to pursue the honors option may be synchronous or asynchronous- extra research and activities will be provided outside of the “General” coursework, to encourage their deeper knowledge and application of the topics covered in class.
Asynchronous: Students who are unable to attend the live sessions will watch the recorded videos to complete the weekly assignments covered in the weekly lessons. All learning assignments are otherwise the same. The asynchronous option is NOT a self-paced class.
Students will register for one mode (live or async) and stay in that mode during the year.
Format
Students share an interactive online classroom and meet live on Zoom.
Live sessions:
Students will be expected to keep their webcams on and participate.
These classes will be recorded for those who must miss a class or prefer to watch later.
Study Hall (Optional): for live AND asynchronous students
Thursday 4-5 p.m. Eastern
Average weekly time estimate: 7-9 hours
All Blue Tent science courses are NCAA-approved.
age/grade guidelines, prerequisites, and class fit recommendations
a complete list of days, times, and breaks
a list of CA charter schools where this course is a-g approved
Foundational Elements
A variety of interactive tools and class dialogue will guide and enhance the journey as students connect biological concepts to relevant, real-world applications.
In this pre-AP Biology class, students will perform both virtual and hands-on labs. This will allow the examination of life through a different lens, emphasizing inquiry-based investigations that provoke questions and encourage observations that spring from experiments.
Hands-on and virtual labs will utilize various resources, including videos and live demonstrations.
Dissecting a crayfish, a perch, and a frog will allow a close examination of the internal structures of different species as students learn to identify each of the body’s systems.
Please note: Should you choose to take Blue Tent Biology after the Summer Dissection Intensive, successful completion of this summer course will place you out of doing the class dissections!
In all class labs, students will collect and critically analyze data, constructing hypotheses based on their findings.
Understanding that biology is not a static field—but one in which there is ongoing investigation and debate—they will become well informed and present their own findings and opinions on a current biology-related issue or topic in several unit projects.
![Bekah Hilton - Biology, Honors Biology, AP Biology; Dissection Intensive bhilton.bluetent[at]gmail.com](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4e715c_bd0d6e26010a4862ae019e6b882d0dda~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_108,h_103,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/4e715c_bd0d6e26010a4862ae019e6b882d0dda~mv2.jpg)