Let ‘em go Barefoot

Missy Willis

Exploring child development and well-being, education, parent-child relationships, and family systems with awareness.

  1. 01/03/2025

    Ep. 44 Building a Life of Conscious Travel with Nicky and Davone Prince

    Is it possible to live rent free and travel the country on a bus with kids?! Nicky and Davone Prince think so and they are showing us how to live a life of conscious travel with joy, an abundance mindset, and fun! The Prince family is back to share what they have been up to since their first episode aired over 2 years ago! (To listen to their first time on the podcast look for Episode 19).  Nicky and Davone's zeal for life is infectious. It’s simply impossible not to feel energized and positive after spending time in their orbit. Enjoy this fun-loving and free-spirited conversation that covers a lot of ground, including a potential title for a book, "Notes on Napkins with Nerds" (HA!!)  In this episode, we talk about: their favorite states so far, the state of America’s roads (lol), their new YouTube channel (has now surpassed 1000 subscribers!) how their support of their children’s self-directed learning impacts them as adults to pursue their own interests, intentional family time, leading our kids by example, staying positive despite challenges on the roads, making a conscious choice to be grateful, creating “family” on the road, supporting one another and extended family as a foundational family value, working while traveling, living rent free and visiting Skooliepalooza in Arizona, keeping track of their travel—Nicky’s addiction to note making, 😊 their goals to visit all 50 states and a country on every continent! how homeschooling has impacted the way they parent, parenting with awareness and being considerate of our children’s different developmental needs embracing the fun of the early years and playing with our kids Davone’s definition of a “nerd” (you need to listen to find out!) communicating with our kids and sharing our reasons for our decisions the impact of a Dad’s presence as a homeschooling family And a forthcoming bus renovation! Follow the Prince Family on YouTube, and on Instagram @princefamilytravel Thanks for being here! ~Missy

    1h 8m

  2. 11/20/2024

    Ep. 43 The Future of Education with MacKenzie Price

    It's hard not to feel excited about the future of education when you talk to MacKenzie Price! She is a changemaker and on a mission to help children receive the most customized education possible. Not only that, she wants to help parents recognize that they don't have to passively accept the standard model as it is, but can utilize better options for their children. As the co-founder of 2-Hour Learning which is a model that uses adaptive apps for academics and teachers as "guides", students are learning and achieving in ways that could not be done in the traditional school model. From the Texas Sports Academy, to the GT School, to NextGen Academy to Alpha School and Alpha Anywhere (homeschool), MacKenzie aims to transform the face of education.    In this episode, she shares how she went from a Standard graduate who had zero interest in going back into a classroom after graduation, to an alternative school entrepreneur. We talk about her own children's experience in the standard school model, where they are now, how 2-Hour learning has evolved, why "guides" instead of teachers, what is expected of students and families who participate in the schools that use 2-hour learning, the reason kids are successful (or not), the role of community and autonomy in learning, the importance of projects and goals, and much more.    It's hard not to be convinced that MacKenzie is onto something big and that the overall tides of education are changing. I believe the next 5-10 years are going to be filled with innovation and our children will benefit greatly, as they should!   Enjoy the episode! How to stay in touch with MacKenzie: Website: https://2hourlearning.com/about-us/ Instagram: @futureof_education How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram: @letemgobarefoot Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    59 min

  3. 10/11/2024

    Ep. 42 Raising Critical Thinkers with Julie Bogart

    Julie Bogart is an author, podcaster, mother of 5 children, and the founder of Brave Writer, which has been supporting, encouraging, and inspiring homeschool families for years! I have been following Julie’s work for a long time and find myself regularly impressed with her level-headed approach to learning, parenting, and thinking. And I'm so glad we got to talk about all these things plus her wonderful book, Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent's Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age. In this episode we discuss: Julie's upbringing, school experiences, and how the Internet has changed since she was raising kids how homeschooling became a part of her life listening to our kids and embracing their dissent considerations for technology use, algorithms, and being online how the different generations view authority the lens (and levels) to learning and mastery: Reading, Experiencing, and Encountering paying attention to our attachment to certainty considerations for making decisions how school taught us to believe in "one" right answer and more! I hope you'll tune into this fabulous episode and let us know what resonated with you. How to stay in touch with Julie: Website:  www.bravewriter.com Social Media: @juliebravewriter Podcast: https://blog.bravewriter.com/2024/01/03/podcast-complete-list-2024/ Book:  Raising Critical Thinkers   How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram: @letemgobarefoot Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    1h 3m

  4. 08/31/2024

    Ep. 41 Post-Traumatic Parenting with Dr. Robyn Koslowitz

    Dr. Robyn Koslowitz is a licensed school psychologist and clinical psychologist. She is also an author, writting the book she needed as a mom, (due to be out in 2025). As someone who suffered from childhood trauma and PTSD, she knew that her panic attacks and flashbacks would impact her ability to parent her son. So, she set out to understand only to find that the research was limited. Fast forward 26 years and she has created a community to support parents, a YouTube channel, a podcast, and is the educational director of the Targeted Parenting Institute. You won’t regret setting aside an hour of your time to listen to her wonderful insights and wisdom about mental health, self-care, parenting, relationships, and understanding how our nervous system works. Much of what she shares can be applied today! Here are some of the questions we address and ideas we discuss: What is trauma? Self-doubt, shame, negative self-talk and self-blame Parenting through past trauma What is a “trauma app”? Self-regulation exercises Behavioral patterns Rupture and repair Temperament work and respecting our children’s unique neurological writing Developing our skills as parents so we can parent ourselves and our unique kids. Polyvagal Theory and co-regulation “Sharing our calm” Entanglements and types of post-traumatic parents Our emotions are history, “What’s hysterical is historical.” How our memories are encoded in objects and places and people. Why people impact our nervous system. The power of acceptance, even our pain. Understanding the future self and appreciating your past self. And more! As always, I’d love to hear what resonated. Please share your aha moments with us. People/Things mentioned in the podcast: Steven Hayes’ work Polyvagal Theory Erikson’s developmental model Where to find more of Dr. Koslowitz: Website: https://www.drrobynkoslowitz.com/about/ Instagram:  @dr.koslowitzpsychology Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drkoslowitzpyschology YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@posttraumaticparenting How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram: @letemgobarefoot Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    59 min

  5. 07/31/2024

    Ep. 40 A Thank You Letter to My Homeschool with author Deb Adamson

    Deb Adamson is a writer, children’s book author, and has worked in radio and broadcasting, been a journalist, and had a syndicated column about homeschooling that documented her family's homeschooling journey. Her goal with the column was to “bridge the gap” by showing people what homeschooling could be. Now, she has written a children’s book about homeschooling, A Thank You Letter to My Homeschool, which gives homeschooling children a chance to see themselves in the pages of a book. This book celebrates homeschool in all its forms. In this episode we discuss her interesting career, how homeschooling came onto her radar, her family’s homeschooling journey and where her son is now (hint: working towards a Ph.D. in semi-conductors!) and what goes into writing a children’s book and getting published. We also discuss: The fear we can have about “messing our kids up” if we choose to homeschool. Supporting our children by following their strengths. How we can inspire our kids by following our own interests and how they can inspire us to keep learning! The importance of community and pulling in people and resources that can help your child achieve their goals. Not getting locked into a mindset but staying flexible as you each learn and grow. How a schoolteacher offered her a vote of confidence that homeschooling was a good choice. Sacrifices some of us have to make to homeschool. A book project she and her son have collaborated on. What goes into published a book. The books she has written and the inspiration for them. The books she has coming out in the next couple of years. And so much more! This conversation is so inspirational and is a beautiful reminder that we are never too old to try something new or to chase our dreams. You can now pre-order A Thank You Letter to My Homeschool through Amazon or from Barnes and Noble. What a unique and delightful book to add your child's book collection.  ***** Other books mentioned in the show: Stormy The Baby Dolphin/A Gulf Coast Rescue by Deb Adamson Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell **SPECIAL OFFER** For those who pre-order “A Thank You Letter to My Homeschool” and provide a proof of purchase, Deb is graciously offering a chance to win a picture book manuscript critique for those interested. **Deadline to be included in the drawing is August 31st, 2024. Please send your proof of purchase to letemgobarefoot@protonmail.com or through DM on Instagram. Where to find Deb: Instagram and Twitter: @debadamsonbook Website:  www.debadamson.com Author page on Amazon Homeschooling column: https://www.sturgisjournal.com/story/bulletin-tab/2008/10/31/deb-adamson-taking-chance-with/65126111007/ Book Publisher: Sourcebooks  How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram and Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    1h 1m

  6. 07/12/2024

    Ep. 39 Joyful Maths with Ruth Rinaldi

    Ruth Rinaldi is an unschooling mom of two and the creator of Joyful Maths. She spent 11 years in the school system, eventually becoming the head of a math department in secondary school then the pandemic hit. She struggled with the way things were going and what she was required to do. At the same time, she noticed that her son’s behavior was different when he was home versus being in preschool. He was happier. This propelled her to take a sabbatical which turned into choosing the unschooling life. Now, she hopes to spread math joy instead of math stress. In this episode we take a deeper look at a subject that tends to make people nervous...Math. We discuss: myths around maths, the idea of “holes” in understanding, whether people have “math brains”, how to approach math in daily life, math in games and play the importance of working with objects in the physical realm before online realm developing number sense and awareness looking at math with curiosity and having fun with numbers the expansiveness of math versus the narrow way it is presented in school the resources she has created to support families, math C.P.R. and more! People mentioned in the podcast: https://drchatterjee.com/blog/category/podcast/ https://ed.stanford.edu/faculty/joboaler Find more of Ruth’s work: Instagram: @joyfulmaths_homeed Tiktok Facebook Visit her Stan Store for resources and support: https://stan.store/Joyfulmaths_homeed How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram: @letemgobarefoot Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    1h 4m

  7. 06/08/2024

    Ep. 38 Unschooling through Adulthood with Erin of Ever Learning

    Erin wears many hats and brings so much wisdom and reflection to the conversation! As the mother of four, veteran unschooling mom who is also employed outside of the home, writer and podcast host, we discuss what life looks like as an unschooling family in the older years.  We address societal pressure to conform even when our kids become young adults and we talk about how community isn't necessarily an option, but in many ways an absolute need. We talk about how our kids change and grow and how it's important for us to stay flexible through their development. We discuss how mentors and work can be great for our teens and young adults and why some unschooling kids want to pursure academics and the standard schooling model when they get older.  If you have a teen or young adult or will soon, this is a wonderful conversation. I think will give you comfort, things to think about, and ideas to consider as you navigate this part of your parenting journey.  How to stay in touch with Erin: https://www.everlearning.ca/ Instagram:  @_everlearning_ Podcast:  Virtual Kitchen Table How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram: @letemgobarefoot Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

    1h 25m

  8. 05/24/2024

    Ep. 37 Brain Based Dad with Adam Cohen

    Adam Cohen is a father or two and the creator of Brain Based Parent. You can find him on social media @brainbaseddad.  In this episode, Adam shares his journey from a discontent school kid to a circus student, performer, then circus skills teacher. He shares how coming across a mentor who introduced him to Applied Neurology changed the course of this life.  In this fascinating conversation about the power and purpose of our brain, we dive into:  how our brain is (negatively) impacted in our modern day world, why play is vital for ALL of us, adults included, why eye movement impacts brain health,  how brain-based training can improve ailments such as tremors and incontinence, breath work and nervous system regulation, how to become a more patient and aware person and parent and why unschooling can ultimately be a low stress state of living and learning. Adam brings a unique perspective to the parenting conversation. Don't miss this one!  How to stay in touch with Adam: Website: https://www.brainbaseddad.com/ or follow him on YouTube or Instagram @brainbaseddad. How to stay in touch with Missy: Instagram and Facebook: @letemgobarefoot Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com eBook: Life Unschooled: A Guide to Living and Learning Without School

    1h 10m
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4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Exploring child development and well-being, education, parent-child relationships, and family systems with awareness.

Information

  • Creator
    Missy Willis
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Let ‘em go Barefoot