Exploring child development and well-being, education, parent-child relationships, and family systems through the lens of mindful awareness.
Episodes
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Karla Marie Williams is an author, speaker, and global advocate of children and families. She is also an unschooling mother of six. I invited her back on the podcast to dive deeper into a conversation around academics in unschooling, supporting the unique needs of our teens, freedom in the teen years, and launching them into the world. (You can listen to her family’s journey into unschooling and her inspiration for writing Teens Unleashed in episode 14.)
Karla brings a joyful spirit to our discussion. Her love for mothering and supporting her teens is undeniable. The great, real-life examples she shares about the power of conversation, planning, listening, and resourcing our teens, even on a budget, allows us to see unschooling in practice.
We address the concerns that unschooling might not be “intellectual”, walk through ways to guide each of kid as they develop their skills, talents, and goals, and discuss the important roles we play as parents, including when to get out of the way. If you have teens or will, don’t miss this one!
Learn more about Karla’s books and work here:
https://www.karlamariewilliams.com/
and on social media @simplykarlamarie
To find more of my writing and musings, visit @letemgobarefoot on social media and my website: www.letemgobarefoot.com
You can now download the ebook I co-wrote with a fellow unschooling mom, Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
In this powerhouse episode, I talk to Teva Johnstone, a licensed clinical social worker and a psychotherapist, a homeschooling parent, and Instagram influencer who aims to empower parents and families to parent "their particular child".
Teva and I discuss the road she took to get to this particular moment in time including the race riots and violence she experienced and witnessed in high school and her successful ten-year career as a hair dresser before going back to school to become a therapist.
The overarching theme of our conversation is children's mental health so we touch on a variety of relevant topics, including:
- the roles of social workers
- what it means to be "safe" and the weaponization of safety to shut down conversation
- the family unit and it's importance for child well-being
- toxic environments and how environmental changes can "cure" mental distress
- current public school model being misaligned for children's well-being
- special considerations for praising children
- what neurodiversity means and the side effects of the neurodiversity paradigm and movement
- importance of being honest and clear about a child's clinically significant disordered behavior
- separating the person from the behavior
- the power of internal motivation
- making decisions that are right for "your particular child"
- and more!
Connect with Teva:
Instagram: @rebel.parents
https://www.tevajohnstone.com/
Information mentioned in the show:
https://www.tevajohnstone.com/blog/is-my-child-disordered
The Free Press essay on autism:
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-autism-surge-lies-conspiracies
Dr. Nick Walker on neurodiversity:
https://neuroqueer.com/neurodiversity-terms-and-definitions/
Connect with Missy:
on Instagram @letemgobarefoot
Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com
on Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/
and download "Life Unschooled: Living and Learning without School"
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Marta Obiols Llistar is a trained teacher who believed in the school system. She didn’t think she would homeschool her children, but the school system “broke her heart”. In this episode we discuss the how and why of her transition to homeschooling with her three children and talk about her very first book, 18: An Unschooling Experience. Marta never thought she would write a book, but the experience of her oldest son turning 18 created a lot of emotions and she had a gut feeling she needed to put her experiences into words so that she could help other parents.
We talk about why she kept unschooling a secret for a little while from her husband, the way her three children pursued their interests and how she supported them on their unique journeys, and how Marta learned to trust the process and to respect her children’s choices and decisions, and how to get out of their way.
We dig into the variety of emotions that come up as homeschooling parents and we discuss what it has meant for her to live in the U.S. and raise her kids here although her heart is in Spain. We touch on the amazing experiences her children had in her home country when they spent five months there.
We also talk about “being in bed” with John Holt (HA!) and how his books changed her life.
Marta is passionate, deep, and an absolute pleasure to talk to. She has finished her second book which is available now: A Successful Education: How to tailor an education to fit your unique child’s needs.
I know you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
Find more Marta:
https://mollbkg.wixsite.com/unschool
https://www.asuccessfuleducation.com/
on Instagram @unschoolingstory18
on Tiktok @unschoolingstory18
Connect with Missy on Instagram: @letemgobarefoot
Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com
on Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/
and download "Life Unschooled: Living and Learning without School"
Friday Jul 21, 2023
Friday Jul 21, 2023
Welcome to episode #31!
Erin Majeske is the creator and director of the Barefeet Farm School located in Bellingham, WA. She gathers daily from Monday through Thursday with 12 preschoolers, her own baby, and two teachers in a large fenced-in property with a creek and boat that has been converted into a playhouse.
The inspiration for the outdoor preschool came together over time and especially after Erin realized how stifling and unsettling the indoor preschool space was for her and the children she cared for. As she found, being indoors all day seemed to constantly go against children being children. Nature is where they thrived.
In this episode, we discuss how her farm school came to be, the importance of being in nature all day, building skills through play, nervous system regulation through music and singing, observing children and noticing where their growing edges are, child-led learning, being more comfortable with conflict, conscious discipline, and so much more!
Find the Barefeet Farm School here: https://www.barefeetfarmschool.com/
Resources: https://www.barefeetfarmschool.com/resources
And on Instagram @barefeetfarmschool
New to homeschooling or unschooling? Grab the new Life Unschooled guide I co-wrote with Ann Hansen of Inner Parent Coaching. This beautiful 43-page downloadable support book was written to empower parents and to shift the paradigm of learning from a school-focused lens to a life-is-learning one.
Get your copy, here: Life Unschooled e-book
To be a part of The Great Educational Awakening, follow along on my Substack newsletter.
And on Instagrm @letemgobarefoot
Friday Jul 07, 2023
Friday Jul 07, 2023
EPISODE 30: Emily is a homeschooling mom of two and the creator of the Home Tribe, a California based, international online platform created to connect parents to each other, resources, and educators. While her mission is to help parents reimagine education, she was not originally a homeschooling parent.
In this episode, we talked about her journey to homeschooling including when she felt like a failure and put her kids back in school. We discussed how Covid impacted her decision to try homeschooling again. We discussed the development of Home Tribe and how her background working in the tech industry inspired her to create an interactive platform. We talk about taking a leap of faith, working parents and homeschooling, reimagining time spent on direct instruction, an agile approach to education, how children change and grow, and the importance of critical thinking.
We also talk about the way we may lose connection with our kids when we fall into thinking educator’s have “authority” over them and we wonder, are we experiencing a crisis of community?
Emily encourages parents to be involved in their kid’s education and to embrace the freedom to make choices that align with our values and goals.
Check out Home Tribe at www.hometribe.com and follow Emily on Instagram @ourhometribe
Also mentioned in the podcast:
https://freedomkeepersunited.org/
https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/
To become a part of the Great Educational Awakening, sign up for Missy's Substack newsletter: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/
and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
In episode 29 I talk to Amber and Madeleine, the creators of Barefoot University...a forest school with "barefoot kids and endless possibilities".
They share their journey from idea to implementation along with the learning and pivots they have made along the way.
Amber and Madeleine are enthusiastic, adventurous moms who have a mission to get a Barefoot University program in all 50 states in the U.S., because, according to them, the science is clear....kids need to be barefoot outside. I couldn't agree more!
To learn more about their program, please visit https://barefootuniversity.org/
Instagram: @barefoot_university
To become a part of the Great Educational Awakening, sign up for Missy's Substack newsletter: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/
Instagram: @letemgobarefoot and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
Friday May 19, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
In episode #28, I talk to Jason Kantor, a homeschool teacher and mentor to struggling teens.
Jason lives in Queens, New York and has worked with students in several capacities, including as a tutor in a scripted, academic private setting which definitely taught him a thing or two about what being a teacher truly means. He has worked with kids from all walks of life and from all family backgrounds. The one thing he realizes each child needs for learning is a connected relationship.
Jason shares about his own struggles in school and how he went through a time of feeling lost and frustrated. We discuss how he landed in a teaching position then eventually came to create the 4 pillars of his coaching approach. We talk about what parents can look out for if they are interested in hiring a coach for their teen.
We also discuss leveling with kids, listening to their concerns, not comparing them to others or their sibilings, and supporting their interests.
You can find Jason on Instagram @coachjasonkantor making informative reels about education and living and learning with teens. He's also on Twitter @thecoachjason
You can find Missy writing and sharing about unschooling, self-directed education, and conscious parenting through the lens of a former teacher turned unschooling mom on Instagram @letemgobarefoot .
She's also writes long-form essays and updates on events and community support options over on Substack .
Are you feeling the tug to skip school and join the Education Revolution?
and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Gill Howarth grew up and lives in Perth, Australia. She cut her teeth as a Kindergarten teacher in South Korea then returned to teach in Australia while growing her family. While she loved working with children, her discomfort with what the educational system expected and what she knew children needed became too much to ignore. For instance, play, which is highly valued in the research was being removed from the school day.
When she became pregnant with her third child, the stress of being a teacher became overwhelming, and she left the profession. However, her creative spark and desire to work with children didn’t stop. She soon set the intention to create time and space to be with children and what started as a one-day program eventually turned into a three-day one.
Born Wise Education was born and is a nature micro school that she joyfully runs with her artist friend, Nat.
In this conversation we discuss her journey from teacher to homeschooling mom. We talk about children’s intuitive nature, building a micro-school from the ground up, the importance of being in nature and the power of play for growth, connection, and emotional intelligence, and following our children’s interests.
We talk about having other adults around to help us expend our lens, the inspiration that can come from social media, and how exciting it is to see this movement of getting back to nature, grow.
Gill is delightful and inspiring! It is obvious she loves what she does.
You can follow her Instagram @ _born_wise_education
and learn more about Born Wise and the Nature Network here:
www.bornwise.com.au
www.wearenaturenetwork.com.au
To register for the Barefoot Playground gatherings, please go here:
https://barefootcoaching.as.me/schedule.php
You can read more about Missy, the podcast host, at www.letemgobarefoot.com
Instagram: @letemgobarefoot and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Raising Readers, Home as Epicenter with Nikolai Pizarro, Episode 26
From an MBA to Literacy Advocate, Nikolai Pizarro believes deeply in the power of community. She embodied self-directed education early and flew under the radar in school by learning advanced math with a neighbor that eventually landed her acceptance to the University of Chicago much to the surprise of one high school teacher in particular.
When she became pregnant, while managing a tax refund franchise, her attention shifted to studying brain science. She realized that the studies on early childhood development were largely based on her demographic. This motivated Nikolai to share what she learned with others and to build up her community by disseminating information and empowering parents. To date, she has worked with over 500 organizations and 2000 children!
We also discuss her experiences with public school as a parent and how her son was severely impacted early on. While her original goal was to support schools from the inside and maintain the philosophy of “centering home” and “home as epicenter”, it became clear that the school setting was not what he needed.
Nikolai’s story is powerful, her work is a force for positive change, and she is a shining example of when there’s a will, there’s a way.
To learn more about her literacy work and to support her mission you can follow Nikolai on Instagram @raisingreaders and visit her websites:
https://www.fromhighchairtofreedom.com/
https://www.homeasepicenter.com/
Sold a Story (link below) is the investigate report we touched on that uncovered the literacy issues in our public schools.
https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/
Interested in live gatherings to discuss topics about learning and living consciously with your children? Join us over on The Barefoot Playground.
Follow Missy on Instagram @letemgobarefoot and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Pam Laricchia joins me for episode 25.
Pam is a mom to three grown children and has been immersed in the unschooling world for over 20 years. She has written multiple books about learning and living with children. I find her joyful, curious, and open way of living alongside kids, in partnership and connection, to be comforting and inspiring.
In this episode, we focus on her beautiful book, The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide (2018) and how the idea to mirror Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces came to be.
We dig into various sections of the journey, such as answering the call to adventure, what it means to be in the “belly of the whale”, accessing “beginner’s mind”, challenging our own beliefs, accepting the value of all experiences, as well as embracing our challenges as integral to the journey, not as a sign that we must stop pursuing adventure or jump off the path altogether.
Come walk with us as we explore unschooling through the lens of the hero's journey.
Connect with Pam:
Instagram @pamlaricchia and @livingjoyfullypodcast
Book: The Unschooling Journey: A Field Guide https://amzn.to/3kRkQVI
Connect with Missy:
Instagram @letemgobarefoot
On Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/ and now you can purchase our ebook, Life Unschooled.
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