Wellspring Inspired Learning is a microschool, providing small-group classes to aid families in educating the next generation to be a strong, spiritual, and wise source for good in the world.
At Wellspring Inspired Learning, we believe that a true education is a living education, one that acknowledges God and seeks after truth and light; is poetic in nature, nourishing the heart, mind, and soul; and respects the child as a whole person and Child of God, endowed with individual agency.
We believe that this type of education layers over time through consistent exposure to great ideas found 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 a living education?
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 be nourished by and acquire a taste for that which is good, beautiful, true, and ennobling.
Students learn principles and ideas through exposure to good literature, history, the arts, scripture, nature, and quality content that honors God and our heritage as His children. We believe that education is spiritual as well as practical in nature and should pass on an inheritance of culture that expands the soul and prepares students for their future roles, both spiritual and temporal.
The role of God in learning:
We believe a knowledge of God and our connection with Him is fundamental to all learning, as He is the source of all truth. Because of this, 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 doing this invites the Spirit into our learning.
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 branch into the other modes of learning, i.e. analytical, scientific, etc.
Ways of engaging the poetic mode include reading aloud of good stories, storytelling, oral narration, music, poetry, imaginative play and dramatization, visual arts, nature walks, hands-on experiences that involve the senses, journaling, and exposure to inspired content and living ideas.
What is a child?
Every child is a beloved child of God, created in His image with a divine nature and potential, a whole person with a heart, mind, body, and spirit and who is given individual agency. The child is not a blank slate to write upon or a container to fill but rather is a complete personality with a unique set of traits.
Respect of personal agency:
Because each child is a child of God and is given the gift of personal agency, learning cannot be forced. We believe that engaging the agency and desire of the learner is fundamental for real learning to occur. It is our responsibility as teachers to provide experiences and opportunities for learning. We strive to provide a feast of living ideas, and students take in what they are ready for, assimilating and informing those ideas with their own personalities, understandings, and opinions
An essential part of agency is personal responsibility. Each child is responsible for his/her own learning but is held to expectations of participation and cooperation. We do our best to consider the interests and desires of the students as we plan and teach.
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 at an individual level within the context of learning.
Which philosophies do we adhere to?
Our educational philosophy and methods are informed by the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, The Integrated Humanities Program, 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 do not heavily rely on curricula but 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 put great care into our planning of authentic learning experiences and reserve the right to draw from a variety of curricula that align with our philosophy that we may use as resources to create a customized experience.
Some curriculum choices we like for the teaching of skills: The Reading Simplified approach to reading instruction, Peterson Handwriting, Scriptorium Writing, Patterns of Power, Words Their Way, Spelling Wisdom, The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series, and Making Math Meaningful.
Small Classes
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 work hard to keep tuition affordable. We are approved vendors for the Utah Fits All and the Children First Education Fund scholarships.
Private Tutoring:
We offer private and semi-private instruction at tutoring rates, when space allows. We can tutor in specific subject and/or skill areas, including reading, spelling, writing, math, etc.
Location: We are located in Salem, Utah.