Let ‘em go Barefoot Missy Willis

Karema Akilah is witty, a visionary, a force, and an inspiration. She is a widowed mother of six children, a trained teacher turned unschooling mom and the creator of The Genius School and GeniiDAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).  
This episode is full of insight and ideas for creating foundational, supportive frameworks in our homes, communities, and online spaces. Karema shares the “x factor” of the Genius School which is guided by the 5 Pillars of Invitation:
Know Thyself,
Know Thy Source,
Know How to be Financially Self-Sustainable,
Know they World,
Serve Thy Community with Thy Genius
And we discuss the next big frontier in education: Web3 and cryptocurrency!
Karema’s community is thinking big and taking action to find a solution to the micro school funding problem. They have developed their own crypto, the $BeMe token, and aim to fund seven micro schools and their staff, support self-directed learners, and revolutionize education.
As she says, “we can do what we’ve always done, and we’ll get what we’ve always gotten” or you can do things differently and that’s what Karema and her community are doing. Plus, you are invited to join the education revolution, too!
To learn more about how to get involved and to provide support for the children and families who wish to utilize self-directed education communities, here are a few steps you can take:
Join the GeniiDao Mighty Network community here: https://genii-5pillargeniuscommunities.mn.co/share/RYP4dE_7Rxi-z36G
Read more about The Genius School here: https://www.thegeniusschool.org/about
Purchase the merch kids have made here: https://www.bonfire.com/store/genii/
If you already have a crypto wallet, be on the lookout for the $BeMe token
If you don’t have a crypto wallet and want to create one, this is a great read for beginners: https://financebuzz.com/set-up-crypto-wallet
Here is where to follow token performance: https://coinmarketcap.com/
Follow Karema on Instagram @geniidaocommunity
Help create $BeMe memes and/or SHARE to raise awareness and funds!
Also mentioned, Dr. Glenn Doman: https://iahp.org/about-glenn-doman/
For more of Missy's writing and work, follow along on Instagram @letemgobarefoot and Substack: https://substack.com/@letemgobarefoot
To purchase a copy of Life Unschooled, click here.
 

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
 

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"

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"
 

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

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.