National Go Barefoot Day was celebrated on June 1. It holds two purposes:
- To kick off (pun intended) the first summer month and warmer weather by going around sans shoes
- To bring worldwide awareness that an estimated 300 million underprivileged children are forced to live barefoot because they donāt own a single pair of shoes*
šŗļø Write the places your feet have traveled
Visualize your life as a walking journeyāwhere have your feet taken you, literally or metaphorically?
š Remember a barefoot summer moment
Let a warm memory surfaceācan you feel the grass, the heat, the joy?
š Make a list of 5 things you like about going barefoot
Focus on the small joysāfreedom, connection, sensory details, or even silliness.
š Write what your (naked) bare feet expose about you. What makes you more vulnerable?
Bare feet can mean truth, exposure, and honesty. What do yours reveal?
āļø Write about the choice to go barefoot. What are the freedoms? What are the limitations?
Explore both the literal and metaphorical meaningāfreedom vs. protection, vulnerability vs. boldness.
*Soles4Souls created National Go Barefoot Day after the 2004 Tsunami disaster. Visit the āSoles4Souls organizationā for more information on how you can help bring shoes to children across the world.
Story Starter: Arnie the Doughnut Dog
Friday, June 6 is National Donut Day. Laurie Keller took Americanās love for doughnuts and wrote about it in her book Arnie the Doughnut. In the book, Arnie and Mr. Bing are both frustrated by a future that seems impossibleāuntil they form an unexpected friendship that fulfills both of their dreams.
Read Arnie the Doughnut and begin writing your own story after the last sentence. What happens next to Arnie and Mr. Bing in āArnie the Doughnut-Dogā?