Learning That Honors the Whole Child

Where your curious, creative child experiences the deep challenges and real-world connections they need to thrive

A full-time, inquiry-driven learning community currently for ages 7-12. Where confidence, curiosity, and real-world capability grow through hands-on projects, meaningful academics, and holistic learning. If you’ve been looking for an education that honors your child’s talents and personality, you’ve just found it.

Key Details

Ages: 7-12
Enrollment: Max 20 for the 2026-27 school year
Schedule: Mon-Thu + optional Friday Quest
Drop Off: 8:45-9:00 @ the Park City Hub (4554 Forest Dale Dr. E26)
Pick Up: 2:00 or 3:00 (you choose) at the Park City Hub
Tuition: Sliding scale. See Cost page or click this text.
Older Youth: programs for ages 13-18 slated for the future.

World-Class, Locally-Grown

Our facilitators combine decades of experience with deep ties to this landscape and community. We bring international best practices in education to life here in the Wasatch Back, through nature, inquiry, and authentic engagement.

Multi-age facilitation
Project leadership mentoring
Daily feedback cycles
Personalized learning scaffolds

Pacing & Rhythm

At The Luminary, children ages 7–12 experience a daily rhythm designed to deepen confidence, capability, and joy in learning.
Over the course of the year, students learn to:

Solve real-world problems with math and evidence
Write, speak, and communicate with clarity and purpose
Lead projects that matter to them and to the community
Collaborate across ages and with skilled mentors

Learning themes are organized into blocks. Blocks are typically 2-4 weeks long and focus on interesting big ideas

Days at the Luminary

At the Volo Luminary, days are designed to be joyful, challenging, and productive.

We start with a Morning Circle — a time to make music together, share announcement, ideas, and questions.
Then we have time for Morning Math and Language Arts; some days more of one or the other, but almost always some of both.
Then, at about 10:30 we move into the Block. Often the activities are planned so that this transition is seamless.
We share lunch together and then there’s time for free play.
In the afternoons we typically work on special projects or activities including music and dance lessons, art, handwork and other projects.
The official school day is over at 2:00, but children may stay after that for the Workshop After 2.
The Workshop After 2 is fun time for chess, science, special art projects, working on the newspaper, visiting the bookmobile, and working on goals from the Personalized Learning Plans.

Because Morning Math, Morning Language Arts, and Projects are so important at Volo, they are explained in more detail below.

Morning Math

We integrate math every day. Most mornings include focusing on math; this includes activities, instruction, and practice. A focal purpose is to engage young people in math in ways that build practical skills and a joy for learning.

Morning Math may include —

Numerical relationships, patterns, and tools.
Numeracy: concept, history, and patterns
Measurement: volume, length, weight, units, application (play, cooking, building)
Operations: concept, application, memorization
Ratios: fractions, rates, applications (cooking, building)
Resources: we use a variety of resources. One key resource is “Making Math Meaningful: A Source Book for Teaching Math in Grades One Through Five. 2nd Ed. N. Fabrie, W. Gottenbos, and J. York. Jamie York Press. ISBN: 9781938210013

Morning Language Arts

Language arts are also integrated in our daily activities. Most mornings include time to focus on 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 —

Joy of communicating with written and spoken language
Alphabet – concept, history, uses; pictorial
Reading – begin with familiar texts then move to reading for instructions and a variety of books and materials. Integrated combinations of whole word, phonic, and contextual methods. Hearing and reading whole class, person to person, self.
Writing — practice composing and reproducing. For creative expression – poetry, stories, moods; for practical application — directions for a game, recipes, letters, description of an observation; for thought and inquiry – concept maps, pro and con lists
Speaking – qualities of spoken sounds and sentence melody. Drama (plays).

Project-Based Learning at Volo

Projects at Volo are how students apply what they’re learning to something real.

In the Friday Quest, students take on two substantial projects per trimester: multi-week efforts that require planning, collaboration, and genuine skill. In the Luminary, project work is woven throughout the year: oral reports, dioramas, plays, and hands-on builds (such as bird houses) that connect academic learning to tangible outcomes.

Across both programs, students have opportunities to contribute meaningfully to their community and landscape. Past and planned projects include restoration planting of native trees and shrubs, building furniture and fencing to protect natural areas, leading outdoor activities for visiting school groups, participating in community science such as bird counts and sensitive species surveys, creating and donating materials for people in need and for wildlife rehabilitation, growing and selling vegetables, and creating artwork for gifts.

Restoration tree and shrub planting
Building furniture
Building fences to protect priority natural areas
Leading another school group in an outdoor activity
Participating in community science such as bird counts or searches for sensitive plant species
Creating and donating materials for needy people
Creating and donating materials for wildlife rehabilitation
Growing and selling vegetables
Creating artwork for gifts