Volo is excited to accept enrollment in our first full-time program, The Exploratory, in 2024-2025!
The program enables learning through flexible and adaptable personalized learning programs that express the interests of learners. Each customized learning plan is strengths-based and supports the discovery and nurturing of each child’s innate talents and passions.
Volo Natural Learning Community’s The Exploratory brings together young people into a multi-aged community – the natural way for humans to thrive. The program centers on helping young people discover learning, life skills, and sense of self on a foundation of place — their place in the world, in history, and in culture (among people). Young people build on that foundation through social innovation, inspired projects, and leadership.
Home Base, 4554 N. Forestdale Dr. Unit E26, upstairs from Wild Roots Montessori. — The Exploratory will meet at our Park City “Home Base” and often travel from there for the day’s activities. Drop off and Pick up will be at the Home Base.
Base Camp, Sagebrush Ranch in Garff Ranches. Volo has contracted a wonderful 80-acres 15 minutes from Park City to serve as our base camp. This summer the landowner is constructing a sturdy heated/cooled cabin for Volo on the lower 40 acres near a stream and the aspen grove where we love to spend time.
Outposts, Summit, Wasatch, and Salt Lake Counties. We also have outpost destinations that we will sometimes visit; these include private land near Oakley along the Weber River, private land in Holiday Park in the Uinta Mountains, the Jordan River Migratory Bird Reserve, and Another Way School’s campus.
Sagebrush Ranch. This 80-acre, private family property in Garff Ranches, near Kamas Utah, will host a cabin dedicated to Volo use.
4554 N. Forestdale Dr. Unit E26, 2nd Floor. This will be our drop-off & pick-up location as well as a space where we can meet indoors when that is the learning plan. This is also our space for cooking classes!
Conserved Lands. Swaner Nature Preserve, open spaces by Utah Open Lands in Summit and Wasatch Counties, and Jordan River Migratory Bird Reserve are also dedicated learning locations.
Being part of The Exploratory’s inaugural cohort will give some young people and their families a unique opportunity to co-create a pioneering program with top educators.
They will put into practice a learning system very intentionally designed by and with an exceptionally well-qualified group of thinkers. We are confident that for a select group of creative, imaginative, and curious children and families, Volo will provide the absolutely best experience in a trailblazing endeavor!
For those of you who are interested in reading more details, here you go.
The Exploratory program is both a carefully articulated design and an adaptable design that can respond to changes, conditions, and learners’ needs. The full time program pace and rhythm is below.
Fridays are shown for convenience. The Friday program is an add-on to the Exploratory.
Blocks focus on themes, which are big ideas. Typically each block incorporates movement, math, reading, writing, speaking, art, history, science, and music. Elements and topics from blocks will also appear in other areas of the schedule. For example, math throughout the year will include numeracy and a focal numeracy block.
4-Day & 2-Day Blocks: Students attending 4 days/week will have two extra days for block learning activities and practice compared to students attending 2 days/week. Children who attend two days will participate in blocks with 4-day attendees; daily block plans will be designed accordingly. Reviews (that typically begin each day of a block) will be a chance for 2-day-attendees to pick up what happened the day before. In some cases, 2-day attendees may be asked to complete block activities at home.
Here is the planned block schedule for 2024/2025. Block dates and elements may change according to the needs, interests, and opportunities of the group.
| Dates | Block | General Description | Possible Daily Plan Elements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 – Sep 11 | Form Drawing | Bring dynamics of movement and shape onto paper. | Body movements – whole body, gestures. Express the sense of things through movement. Large drawings to represent movements in various media. Draw shapes. Move body and group to represent shapes. |
| Sep 23 – Oct 10 | Numeracy | Develop abilities to understand and work with numbers. | Represent numbers with shapes, movements, and manipulatives. Skip counting. Rhythmic counting. Movements and games involving numbers and counting such as jumping rope, hand claps, dribbling. |
| Oct 14 – Oct 24 | Folktales and Fables | Tales that express a variety of human personalities. Classic tales of animals representing human interactions. | English, German, and American folktales such as tales about Robin Hood, King Arthur and Merlin, Rip Van Winkle, Johny Appleseed. Aesop’s Fables. |
| Oct 28 – Nov 7 | Reader’s Workshop | Reading books according to ability. | Whole class reading. Child to child. Child to adult. Adult to child. Quietly to self. |
| Nov 11 – Nov 14 | Number Operations | Foundational number relationships: multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. | Represent with actions, manipulatives, symbols. Play and create games. Observe and identify patterns. Memorize multiplication facts. |
| Nov 18 – Nov 21 | Energy | Exploring the feeling, meaning, and uses of energy. | Discussion. Demonstrations of battery-powered machines. Lemon battery. Fire. Remote-controlled, battery-powered vehicles. |
| Dec 2 – Dec 18 | Wish, Wonder, and Surprise | Developing delight in poetry with illustrations. | Hear evocative poetry such as short poems by Emily Dickenson, Shel Silverstein, Robert Frost. Copy short poems and create illustrations for them. Shape poems such as “The Six-Cornered Snowflake” by John Frederick Nims. Memorize a short poem. Create a poem from an illustration. |
| Jan 6 – Jan 16 | Water | Learning about water in nature and human life. | Observe and experience water in nature. Measure. Experiments with state changes. Observe and change water quality. |
| Jan 21 – Jan 23 | Native American Stories | Stories providing insight to people and place. Promote cultural understanding for people of other times, places, or cultures. | Tales from Native Americans with focus on tribes of western North America (Ute, Shoshone, Navajo, etc.), such as Chief Washakie, stories of the Navajo and animal people, and stories about Coyote and creation from the Ute tribe. |
| Feb 10 – Feb 20 | Skiing | Whole-body movement. | Skiing lessons drawn from the work of Diane Bode. Practice gross and fine motor skills. |
| Feb 24 – Mar 6 | Drama (Class Play) | Acting to tell a story verbally, through movement, costume, and setting. | One- or two-act play or plays where every person has a part. Participants will co-choose the play(s). Presented to parents and friends. |
| Mar 10 – Mar 20 | Writer’s Workshop | Practicing and developing writing skills and joy in writing. | Writing stories or plays. Character development. Problems and resolution. Story arc. |
| Apr 7 – Apr 10 | Fibers and Clothing | Learn about natural fibers and clothing. | Tie to crocheting in handwork station. Sheep and alpaca wool. Cattails, milkweed, reeds. Natural dyes and dying fabric. |
| Apr 14 – Apr 24 | Math Understanding | Tbd: depends on group. | May be a topic or understanding that is interesting to the group and could use more focus. For example, may be ratios, business math, measurement, etc. |
| Apr 28 – May 8 | Comparative Study of Animals | Fun focus on animal types and groups. | Comparing and contrasting animal groups. Holding and observing animals. Exploring systematic categories. Create simple dichotomous key from observations. |
| May 26 – May 29 | Wrap Up | Final portfolio and presentations. | Compile and bind works on paper. Presentations to parents and friends. |
| Aug 26 – Aug 29 | Orientation | Familiarize young people with learning spaces, plans, and expectations. Introduce to ideas and possibilities. Engage in collaborative planning and choices. | Visit learning centers and outposts. Get to know participants and facilitators. Introduction to block topics and try initial activities. Communicate and practice group desires and expectations. Play & games. |
An hour on Monday and Wednesday mornings is dedicated to math. This will include activities, instruction, and practice. A focal purpose is to engage young people in math in ways that are happy and build a joy of learning.
Morning Math may include –
An hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings is dedicated to Language Arts. This will include creative activities, reading, writing, and speaking. A focal purpose is to open doors of understanding, confidence, and joy with the English language.
Morning Language Arts may include —
The following are afternoon classes for 2024/2025.
Fall Term
Winter Term
Spring Term
Projects may include the following and/or others. Final plans will be co-created with the participating children and volunteers.