Middle School at Wild Wonders (6th–8th Grade)
Serious Academics. Real Responsibility. Room to Become Their Own Person.
Middle school at Wild Wonders is built for the age. Students are ready for harder questions, bigger projects, and more say in their own education. Sixth and seventh graders work through rigorous, interdisciplinary project-based units. Eighth graders step into something different entirely: a self-directed capstone year we call The Harvest Year. Both tracks share the same foundation of farm-based learning, daily outdoor time, and teachers who know every student well enough to hold them accountable and cheer them on.
Middle School Quick Facts
Sixth and seventh graders complete three interdisciplinary project-based learning units each year, connecting language arts, social studies, and science through collaborative, hands-on work. Math is taught separately with differentiated instruction to meet each student's level. Eighth graders follow a different path (see The Harvest Year below).
Parents remain active partners in their child's education, continuing learning at home with teacher-provided curriculum and resources.
Schedule: Monday – Thursday | 9 AM – 3 PM
Location: Wild Wonders Farm | Belgrade, MT
Tuition: $1,100/month
What 6th & 7th Graders Are Learning
At this level, students are expected to think critically, back up their opinions with evidence, and manage longer, more complex work.
Project-based units ask them to research, write, debate, create, and present. Math instruction is personalized so each student is working where they need to be, not where the group average lands. Teachers act as mentors, pushing students toward independence while still providing structure.
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Project-Based Learning
Three units per year that weave together language arts, social studies, and science around meaningful themes. The work is collaborative and the standards are high.
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Writing & Language Arts
Research papers, essays, creative writing, and presentations. Students are developing their own voice and learning to communicate clearly, both on paper and out loud.
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Science & Social Studies
Explored through project work that connects to real issues and current events. Students learn to ask better questions and find their own answers.
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Differentiated Math Instruction
Personalized instruction that meets each student at their level. Some students are solidifying foundations while others are pushing into more advanced concepts. Both are expected.
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Farm & Outdoor Education
Daily time outdoors and real responsibility on the farm. Middle schoolers take on leadership roles with younger students and handle more complex tasks.
The Harvest Year: 8th Grade Capstone
The Harvest Year is the culminating experience of a student's time at Wild Wonders. After years of building skills, knowledge, and good work habits through the K–7 program, eighth graders put all of it to use. They design and carry out a self-directed project in a field they care about, with their teachers serving as facilitators and accountability partners rather than lecturers.
What the year looks like:
A Self-Directed Project – Each student chooses a topic or question that matters to them and builds a year-long project around it. The project is theirs to own from start to finish.
Applied Academics – Math, language arts, and writing aren't taught in the abstract. They're woven into the project itself. Students write because they have something to say. They use math because their project requires it.
Community Involvement – A core piece of the year is connecting with the broader community. That might look like an internship, a service project, or a partnership with a local organization.
A Final Presentation – The year ends with a significant deliverable or presentation. Students share what they pursued, what they learned, and what it meant to them.
The idea behind it: Everything students have learned at Wild Wonders, every project, every farm chore, every book they read and problem they solved, has been building toward this. The Harvest Year asks them to take what they've been given and do something real with it. It's the moment where foundation becomes action.
Why Wild Wonders for Middle School?
✓ Academics That Prepare Them – The work here is rigorous and relevant. Students leave ready for high school, not just academically but in how they approach hard problems.
✓ Math That Actually Fits – Differentiated instruction means your child is challenged at the right level, every day.
✓ Independence With Accountability – Students get more freedom and more responsibility. Teachers make sure those two things stay in balance.
✓ The Harvest Year – No other program offers what our 8th grade capstone does. It's a year where your child takes everything they've built and turns it into something meaningful.
✓ Daily Time Outdoors – Even at this age, the farm and the land are part of the routine. It's good for focus, for stress, and for perspective.