Wellspring Inspired Learning exists to aid families in educating the next generation to be a strong, spiritual, and wise source for good in the world. Of course, our society knows education is essential in order for children to become functioning citizens; however, opinions differ on what that education should look like. At Wellspring Inspired Learning, we believe that education should be principle-based, poetic, agency driven, customized, mentored, and God-inspired.
We believe that this type of education happens over time through consistent exposure to great ideas in living books and the arts; through authentic language experiences and individual expression; and through hands-on learning. We believe that skills should be taught within this environment and with the assistance of stories, poetry, music, art, nature, and play.
What is education?
We believe that education is spiritual as well as practical in nature and should pass on an inheritance of culture that expands the soul. We view education as the acquisition of light and knowledge for the purpose of living a life of maximum joy, with increased capacities to not only read, write, and do arithmetic, but also to appreciate, distinguish, and live by principles and ideas that are truly good. In order for that to happen, the learner must acquire a taste for that which is good, beautiful, true, and ennobling.
Our definition of a principle-based education:
Students learn principles, both moral and academic, through exposure to good literature, history, the arts, scripture, nature, and quality content that honors God and our heritage as His children.
A poetic education:
A poetic education involves the heart; engages the senses, both external and internal; and fuels the imagination. It recognizes that learning should begin in the poetic mode– experience, wonder, and appreciation–before it can move to the analytical. Ways of engaging the poetic mode: reading aloud of good stories, storytelling, oral narration, music, poetry, imaginative play and dramatization, visual arts, nature walks, hands-on learning, journaling, and exposure to inspired content and living ideas.
Agency driven:
We believe that engaging the agency and desire of the learner is fundamental for real learning to occur. While we do hold our students to high expectations of participation and cooperation, we do not force any learning. Instead, we expect our students to seek out knowledge, with us as partners, and allow them to develop specific interests that can be explored together.
Mentorship:
We mentor students and give feedback where appropriate. We do not provide grades, as we feel that grades shift the focus away from the content being learned and onto a superficial outcome. Because we work with small groups of students, we are able to get to know our students and their needs and can better assess those needs and their growth at an individual level within the context of learning.
The role of God in learning:
We believe a knowledge of God and our connection with Him is fundamental to all learning. We start each class with prayer and scripture, with special emphasis on the Book of Mormon, from which we springboard into learning. We find that inviting the Spirit helps fuel discussion and increases learning.
Which philosophies do we adhere to?
Our educational philosophy and methods are informed by the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, integrated humanities and the classical tradition according to the ages of man taught by John Senior, and The Well-Educated Heart. We do not profess strict adherence to any one philosophy and process all philosophy through a gospel lens which is Latter-day Saint based.
What curricula do we use?
We craft our courses using living books and art media, gathered from the 1000 Good Books list, Libraries of Hope and other CM, classical education, and Christian/Latter-Day Saint sources. We also have and draw from a variety of curricula that align with our philosophy that we may use as resources to create a customized experience. If we are using a specific curriculum for a specific class, we will specify it in the class description.
Some curriculum choices we like for the teaching of skills: Words Their Way, Spelling Wisdom, the Reading Simplified approach to teaching reading, The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series, and Making Math Meaningful.
Why a microschool?
Small classes create greater opportunities for more personalized learning. As teachers, we are more attuned to a smaller group of students and have greater opportunities for working with the student in the areas that the student specifically needs. For this reason, our classes never exceed 6-8 students.
Tuition
We have worked hard to make tuition reasonable for a personalized and high-quality education. We are an approved vendor for Utah Fits All and for the Children First Education Fund.
Private Tutoring:
We offer private and semi-private instruction at tutoring rates. We can tutor in specific subject and/or skill areas, including reading, spelling, writing, math, etc. .
Location: We are located in Salem, Utah.