A school where your child can grow
Kindergarten through Grade 8 in small classes, where teachers stay with a class across the years and know each child well. Mornings are for academics; afternoons are for gardens, animals, handwork, and the woods.
Waldorf-Inspired Education • Conway, South Carolina
Space to wonder.Room to grow.
A nature-based K–8 school and learning community for families who value curiosity, creativity, and meaningful time outdoors.
Discover our school, homeschool enrichment, and opportunities for younger children.
Kindergarten–Grade 8
A full day school for ages 5 and up, Monday through Thursday.
Waldorf-inspired learning
Main Lesson blocks, stories, art, movement, and practical work.
Wondering Woods Farm
An 18-acre farm campus with gardens, animals, woods, and outdoor classrooms.
Homeschool support & enrichment
Fridays on the farm, tutoring, and community for learning at home.
Find your family's pathway
Three ways to begin
Families arrive here from different places. Whichever door you come through, the first step is the same: come and see the school.
Community for your homeschool journey
Fridays on the farm, individual tutoring, small-group academics, and a circle of families who have chosen the same path. Bring your questions and your child's curiosity — we will help you find the right fit.
A gentle beginning for little ones
The Nesting Place is a parent–child morning on the farm for infants through age 6: animal chores, forest walks with the goats, seasonal crafts, storytime, and a parent learning circle.
Events & camps
Big adventures. New friendships. Come join us.
Discover seasonal celebrations, outdoor adventures, camps, and family gatherings at Mindful Journey Academy. Explore upcoming events and find an experience for your family.
CommunityOpen to all families
Strings & Stories 2026
Our annual evening of live country music and heartfelt storytelling under the trees, with Elliott Poston, Rob Cole, and Taylor Richardson. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
- Date and time
- November 14, 2026 · 5:00 PM Eastern
- Location
- Wondering Woods Farm, Conway, SC
- Age range
- Ages to be confirmed
- Price
- Price to be confirmed
FestivalEligibility to be confirmed
Martinmas Lantern Walk
Children carry handmade lanterns into the darkening days, bringing warmth and kindness into the season.
- Date and time
- November 19, 2026 · Evening — time to be confirmed
- Location
- Wondering Woods Farm, Conway, SC
- Age range
- Ages to be confirmed
- Price
- Price to be confirmed
FestivalEligibility to be confirmed
Winter Celebration & Advent Spiral
A quiet, candlelit gathering that closes the autumn term and turns the school community toward winter.
- Date and time
- December 11, 2026 · Evening — time to be confirmed
- Location
- Wondering Woods Farm, Conway, SC
- Age range
- Ages to be confirmed
- Price
- Price to be confirmed
Learning with purpose
Curious minds. Capable hands. Growing confidence.
Academic learning at Mindful Journey Academy is not separate from nature, art, or work. It is carried by them.
Each morning begins with a Main Lesson: an extended block devoted to one subject — history, science, mathematics, or language arts — studied deeply for several weeks. Students read and listen to rich source material, write and illustrate, practice problems, act out scenes, and discuss ideas. The same topic is met through thinking, feeling, and doing, which is why it stays with them.
The curriculum follows the child. Grade 3 builds shelters, farms, and measures the world. Grade 5 meets ancient civilizations and botany. Grade 6 studies physics and astronomy. Grade 7 moves into chemistry and algebra. By Grade 8, students are doing independent research, leading on campus, and getting ready for what comes next.
None of this is learned from a screen. Children read, write, calculate, draw, cook, build, care for animals, and explain their thinking out loud — every day.
Reading and writing begin with story
Letters arrive through fairy tales, fables, and legends. As children grow, they write summaries, reports, and creative pieces, recite poetry, and fill their own illustrated Main Lesson books.
Mathematics you can hold
Numbers start with movement, rhythm, and real objects, then move into the four processes, times tables, fractions, decimals, geometry, business math, and algebra — with weekly practice from the middle grades on.
Science learned by looking closely
Botany, animal studies, local geography, astronomy, geology, and the physics of light, sound, heat, and magnetism — observed first, in the garden, the woods, and the sky, then written down.
Practical work that builds capable hands
Handwork, watercolor, woodwork, blacksmithing, mechanics and restoration, cooking, shelter building, and daily animal care. Children make real things and take real responsibility.
A day at Mindful Journey Academy
A rhythm children can trust
Predictable routines help children feel secure, focused, and ready to learn. This is the shape of a typical day; exact timetables vary by grade and season.
- Step 1
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.
- Step 2
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.
- Step 3
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.
- Step 4
Creative and practical work
Handwork, watercolor, woodwork, building projects, cooking, and farm responsibilities. Children make real things and care for animals, gardens, and tools.
- Step 5
Reflection and closing
The day ends with reflection, sharing, or a closing story so children transition home calmly.
Want the details for your child's grade?
Our admissions page covers the school year dates, drop-off and pick-up times, aftercare, and the optional Friday Nature Skills Guild.
Homeschool families
Your homeschool journey, with a community around it.
Bring your questions, your child's curiosity, and your hopes for their learning. Explore how Mindful Journey Academy's enrichment and learning support could fit your family.
Your family stays responsible for your homeschool plan, records, and reporting. What we add is time on the land with other children, instruction when a subject needs extra hands, and adults who know your child by name.
- Fridays on the farm with Nature Skills Guild
- Individual tutoring and small-group academics in the Learning Studio
- 4-H on Thursdays at Wondering Woods Farm
- Book and Cook mini-camps for ages 8 and up
Meet the educators
Teachers who know your child
Our teachers observe, encourage, create, and problem-solve alongside each child. Many stay with a class across multiple years, building the kind of trust that makes learning possible.
Marie Hall
Founder & Director
Holding the vision of Mindful Journey Academy with faith, creativity, wisdom, and a boundless love for children, nature, and community.
Jennine Cabrera
Grades 1–2 and Grade 8 Teacher • Theater in the Common Thread Guild
Passionate about nurturing lifelong learners who approach the world with curiosity, confidence, and open minds.
Joshua Wysong
Grade 5 and Grades 6–7 Teacher • Common Thread Guild • Campus Safety
Bringing creativity, humor, thoughtful observation, and heart to the classroom and the wider MJA community.
David Maggenti
Grounds • Maintenance • Farm Instruction • Skilled Trades
Building what is needed and clearing the path through craftsmanship, patience, and heart.
Wondering Woods Farm
The farm is not the backdrop. It is the classroom.
Wondering Woods Farm is the living heart of Mindful Journey Academy. Learning unfolds in rhythm with the seasons — caring for animals, tending gardens, studying wildlife, and working with real tools. Responsibility, patience, and curiosity are practiced here rather than described.
- 18 acres to learn on
- Gardens, meadows, woods, and marsh trails, with outdoor classrooms throughout.
- Animals every day
- Goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, tortoises, and bees — cared for by the children themselves.
- Growing food
- Students plant, tend, and harvest, then cook what they grow.
- Shops and skilled trades
- The Restoration Barn, our forge, and woodcraft benches, where students work with real tools.
Past highlights
A little of what you've been missing
Festivals, fundraisers, camps, and days on the land. Here is how those days looked.
Festival · October 24, 2026
An evening under the lights at Wondering Woods Farm
Games, a chili cook-off, pumpkin carving, and a woodland trick-or-treat trail through the farm.
Milestone · June 4, 2026
Rainbow Bridge Ceremony & Graduation 2026
A heartfelt farewell ceremony celebrating our eighth graders as they crossed the rainbow bridge to their next adventure.
Fundraiser · May 2, 2026
Clucky Derby 2026
Our biggest spring fundraiser of the 2025–2026 school year. Families and community members sponsored chickens and joined us for Derby Day. The Clucky Derby launched our building campaign with its first $1,500.
Practical information
Everything you need before you visit
Fees, schedules, and program details in one place. If something is not answered here, call or write and a person will help you.
- School year
- 2026–2027 school year
- School week
- Monday–Thursday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
- Where we are
- 6550 Daphane Drive, Conway, SC 29526
- Talk with us
- (843) 267-0315
September 1, 2026 – June 4, 2027
Fridays are an optional outdoor day.
In the press & affiliations
Our work is deeply local — rooted in land, children, and community — while the questions we are asking about education are being felt far beyond our gates.
- South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA)
- Association for Nature-Based Education (ANBE)
- Natural Start Alliance (A project of NAAEE)
International Business Times
No Screens, No Shortcuts: Building an Education System for Human Connection & Nature
Read the articleBold Journey
Meet Marie Hall
Read the article
Visit us
Come see where your child could grow.
Walk the farm, explore our learning spaces, and talk with us about what you are looking for in your child's education.