Programs
Kindergarten through Grade 8
Who this is for
Children who learn best with their hands, their bodies, and their curiosity
- Loves being outdoors and exploring nature
- Enjoys working with their hands and making real things
- Benefits from small classes and being truly known by a teacher
- Is curious about animals, gardening, and practical skills
- Thrives in a calm, rhythmic environment
- Struggled in a larger or faster-setting classroom and needs confidence rebuilt
- Ages and grades
- Ages 5 and up
- School week
- Monday–Thursday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
- School year
- 2026–2027 school year
September 1, 2026 – June 4, 2027
Academics
Serious academics, carried by story and work
A day in the life
Arrival and connection
Children arrive to a familiar greeting and begin with a morning circle — song, verse, movement, or reflection — that settles the group and opens the day.
Focused academic learning
Main Lesson: an extended morning block where the class goes deep into one subject for several weeks, then moves on. Reading, writing, mathematics, and science are learned through story, drawing, discussion, and students' own illustrated Main Lesson books.
Outdoor movement and exploration
Time on the land: trails, woods, garden beds, and animal care. Movement, games, and physical education are part of learning, not a break from it.
Creative and practical work
Handwork, watercolor, woodwork, building projects, cooking, and farm responsibilities. Children make real things and care for animals, gardens, and tools.
Reflection and closing
The day ends with reflection, sharing, or a closing story so children transition home calmly.
Fridays
Nature Skills Guild
Nature Skills Guild is purposeful, mentored learning outdoors — not free play, and not a camp-style program. Children are guided but trusted, learning through doing rather than watching, with real tools and real responsibility.
- Fire and earth skills
- Woodwork and handcraft, including whittling with simple tools
- Shelter building and knot tying
- Nature awareness and close observation
- Stewardship of animals, land, and tools
- Day and time
- Fridays, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
- Location
- Wondering Woods Farm
- For enrolled students
- Optional
- Community enrollment
- $40 per Friday
Families who prefer a four-day week simply pick up after Thursday.
For non-MJA students, with a discounted rate for enrolled MJA families.
What families can expect
Expect dirt.Children should arrive dressed for full outdoor participation in all weather.
Expect stories.Children come home talking about building, tending, and working together.
Expect pride.Children learn to feel capable because they truly are.
Practical skills and guilds
Hands in the work, all year long
Common Thread Guilds
Theater, digital arts, music, handwork, stewardship, cooking, and skilled trades weave craft, service, and performance through the school year.
Equine Adventure Days
Monthly equine therapy and horsemanship with Myrtle Beach Therapeutic Riding & Vaulting Club in Loris, SC, led by Ms. Amy and her team — building confidence, empathy, and balance.
The Restoration Barn & Forged in the Forest
Real tools, real projects, and real responsibility — from engines and restoration work to blacksmithing and traditional hand skills.
4-H at Wondering Woods Farm
Bees, chickens, goats, turkeys, cooking, and more. Join us Thursdays at 1:30 PM.
Availability
Small classes, deliberately
Visit us
Come see a school day in motion.
Sit in on a Main Lesson, walk the trails, meet the animals, and ask the teachers how they work with children like yours.