Whadddup, Listener homie! I hope you're listening to this final episode thinkin' Daang, Akilah really helped me get more aligned with the type of person I wanna be. Who are you now that you have experienced some of these conversations here on the podcast? My answer to that question is that I am more zoned in on the embodiment of the unschooling skills, which currently look like: Shifting my seminary studies from interfaith/interspiritual ministerial ordination to Integrative Thanatology...

Have you ever wondered how grief and loss might pave a pathway toward spiritual growth? In this penultimate episode of Fare of the Free Child podcast, I share with you the fourth path in my care package to this community. Sharing Season 9 reflections, Chemay Morales-James, Vanessa Molano, Jasai Madden, Stori, and I bring to life our experiences in this liberation walk. Engaging in a candid exploration of spirituality, manifestation, magic, and money, we unravel the ways it has shaped our...

Join Akilah as she journeys through the third path to Raising Free People: For Me not Them. Learn the languaging that helps you, the adult, the independent person, move through discovering confident autonomy and other themes that come through as you traverse the pathway of personal leadership. This week we continue our exploration into liberation and self-direction from Seasons 6, 7, and 8. Among those who got their flowers are Yolonda Coles Jones, Leslie W. Bray, and Vanessa Molano, who...

Moving away from school-centric culture and the performances we got going on is a very real thing that one listener voiced and we're sharing it here in this episode. We're diving deep into this topic, addressing the importance of honoring our children's confident autonomy and moving away from the ingrained schoolishness we perform at home. We're exploring this through one listener's transformative story, lessons from my personal parenting journey, and the integrated perspectives that...

A 6-minute offering for the beginner’s path. Start a journey of discovery, trusting that learning comes from various sources - many of which can't be measured on a conventional scale. May this bonus 6-minute offering on Fare of the Free Child serve you well! Be sure to listen to Episode 265 for more on the starter/beginner path too! We're throwing some critical questions in the mix with some MQA, inviting you to question the rules and agreements we've held ourselves and our children to.  As...

If you've been searching and asking about some of the most innovative minds in the realm of unschooling, youth rights, and liberation, names like Zakkiyya Chase, Moji Yai, Lane Santa Cruz, and Dr. Sundiata should ring a bell. Some of our most listened-to early dialogues included ones with Ieishah Clelland-Lang and Lou Wilkerson. We detangled topics like Black maternal mortality rates, intuition, trust, and deschooling. Their insights set the stage for seasons two and three of Fare of the...

In this episode, we'll explore the concept of savorism, a term Akilah coined to savor the spaciousness, slowness, and richness that comes from integrated unschooling. Sit with us for storytime about how Akilah's family made the shift from conventional school to homeschooling to unschooling. It was an experience that caused her and her partner to pause, reflect, and listen more to their children's needs. Hear how they fought against the 'stuckness' of conventional schooling and forged their...

Ever wondered how unschooling and liberation work intersect? Join us for a nostalgic trip down memory lane as we delve into the first season of Fare of the Free Child podcast. We discuss my personal journey to unschooling and how moving away from a school-centric life connected to liberation work. In this episode, we give a special shout out to Juan Perez, our beloved audio editor! We also celebrate the various topics, conversations, and stories from season one that have left a lasting...

What happens when we eulogize an elder who has guided us on our journey of unschooling, decolonizing education, and raising free people? Join me in this heartfelt final season as we celebrate the transformative energy of unschooling and the legacy of Self-Directed Education. Together, we'll explore the three containers of explainers, affirmations, and insights that will guide us through this final season, reflecting on the wisdom and experiences we've gained from Fare of the Free Child. As...

Ahhh….what an accomplishment! Our penultimate season reaches it’s finale… and ya’ll what a season it has been!! Manifestation, magic, bridges, money as a tool, and the community that is MRM Village! We talk about how networking is actually all about creating community and linking up with folks who are willing to support each other’s missions. Chemay talks about her intuition-led path to MRM’s updated business model that centers relationships, not dollars!We learn how Chemay and Vanessa...

What is abundance culture? And what does pausing have to do with sustained abundance? These are some of the questions Vanessa Molano (our resident party animal + book nerd) asks us to explore in this conversation. "I designed a spreadsheet to help you manage your bone$ and circulate that shit." - Vanessa Madd Question Askin' from this convo: What are some of the alternative ways we can do what we’re trying to do, without the harm?How do you manage money in a way where you measure success...

In this episode, and through the season, we are inviting you to listen, to notice, and to feel through what these conversations evoke for you; within you. Madd Question Askin' What new language is forming for you?  What are you resisting?  What are you allowing?  What are you reframing and reimagining? Are you already using spiritual tech in your life? What does that look like?  Are you finding ways to introduce play/playfulness into your days?  What infuses more joy into just being?  What...

What is your connection to your origin story? Do you feel tied to your origin in ways that feel good and grounding? Or do you feel tethered to something that doesn’t quite feel like you? What do you think about when you read or hear the words Origin Story, anyway? Do you think about the start of your actual life?Or a particular relationship?A specific place?A type of food?An event?On this episode, you’ll hear some of me (Akilah) and Naaz’s (aka Fatima’s) origin story—how we met, and where we...

This is the first episode of Season 9 and we’re delighted to dive into the work of shifting our spiritual and intuitive work to include our raising free people practice. This feels important because while some of us might already see the connection between our commitment to raising free people and the cultivation of our spiritual and intuitive practices, not all of us do. For some of us, the weight, pressure, and pace of our daily responsibilities make that particularly difficult to name, let...

As we continue our preparation for Season 9, you are invited to listen as Naaz (also known as Fatima) Mookadam tell us what showed up for her as she listened to Akilah S. Richards’s conversation with Dr. Crystal Menzies. You’ll hear much of that conversation in Season 9, so for now, hear Fatima’s insights and Akilah’s invitation to you. If you missed our first teaser, listen to it here. We are so excited to be centering the voices of five women who are deep in their own deschooling...

What's on the other side of a pause? Last season, we leaned into a focused pause, over and over, episode by episode. We also took that pause with us when the episode ended, and now we are ready to slow-walk our way into what arose for us, and for you. Listen as Naazneen (also known as Fatima) Mookadam and Akilah S. Richards speak to some of the themes we'll be sharing this season. You'll hear the voices of all five women who are centered in season 9.  Here they are in the order you heard...

Grief. Avoidance. Funky energies. We’re wrapping up Season 8 with all kinds of feelings in the mix. How do we embrace or transform these feelings as they arise? That’s the pausewerk, and this week we arrive at E, for Exploration. “Noticing your behavior in that moment is about noticing that moment, which is really powerful. It grounds you in the now.” Akilah encourages us to trust the wisdom that emerges from a pause, and Domari shares a story speaking to this experience. Domari reminds us...

The second to last episode in season 8 is live, #fofcpod fam! This week’s inquiry is about the E (for Exploration) in our P.A.U.S.E. acronym. We’re also sharing some post-season offerings and spaces, so be sure to take notes on the things that perk your ears up! These spaces help us find community and connection and are tools to decolonize and revisit our relationships and practices while we navigate through this deschooling journey with our #pausewerk tools in hand and in heart. Madd...

Peace #fofcpod fam! This week, Domari is in the buildin’ for our Listening Party Live Chat,and she and Akilah share some experiences and examples of zoning in on the letter S. in P.A.U.S.E. We also continue speaking about the differences between practice and process. As we question what Sorting and Shedding look like, our hosts share some examples where pause work might be effective. What can we notice or re-imagine in our relationships, language, and self-care? DISCUSSION POINTS Domari talks...

This week in Episode 251, we droppin’ gems around the S. in P.A.U.S.E. S. is for Sorting and Shedding. Domari (put her links here as usual) starts us off with a nursery rhyme remix to remind us about the side effects of neglecting to slow it on down sometimes! This week, Akilah offers us seven distinctions between process and practice. She reminds us about a convo with Tiersa McQueen Think about what feels present, the models of living and learning that you practice, and what you might need...

Peace, #fofcpod fam! This week we’re still focused on the letter U for understanding as part of our P.A.U.S.E.werk. Domari (of Positive and Purposeful Parenting) and Akilah hosted the listening party, and Jonie, Reese, Ana Maria, and Erica joined live to share and hear feedback and touchpoints. Together, they reflected and inquired about our relationship with understanding, how autonomy and trust are intertwined, the many layers around discomfort, compassion, trust, and then some. Let’s agree...

This week we’re focused on the letter U for understanding in our P.A.U.S.E.werk. Listen as we talk about the language of conscious parenting, the difference between dialogue and discussion, and then some. Domari and Akilah take us through some of their noticings about how understanding and control impact their relationships, and not just as mothers. Also, be ready for an insightful convo about an Instagram post where Ieishah Clelland (our Season 7 Co-Producer) questioned gentle parenting as a...

Welcome #fofcpod fam! This episode is the continuation of our Listening Party Replay around the letter A (for Absences) in PAUSE. We’ll be inquiring more about what’s missing, understanding, compassion, and boundaries as we navigate through the ups and downs that may arise from this PAUSEwerk. Domari of Positive and Purposeful Parenting is in da house along with Ana Maria, Lou, Antoinette, and Joni who joined us in the Live Chat. Let's get into it! Domari named some of the things she has been...

Here we go #fofcpod friends! Let’s continue with this 70-day PAUSE journey, along with the amazing Domari Dickinson of Positive and Purposeful Parenting. P is for Pain PointsA is for absencesU is for understandingS for sorting or sheddingE for explorationEpisode 247 is part one of the Listening Party around the letter A (for Absences) in PAUSE, so we’re offering you affirmations and snippets from conversations all in service of our current PAUSEwerk. What’s missing? What feels lost or...