MomiU

“Educate the women and the men will be educated. Let the ladies understand the great doctrine of seeking the greatest good, of loving their neighbors as themselves; let them indoctrinate their children in this fundamental truth, and we shall have wise legislators.” ~Mary Lyon

You are not alone! The passion you feel for the future of your children, the country you love, and the principles of liberty is shared by thousands of women across the United States! Whether you need encouragement, are looking for supportive suggestions, or want to share ideas, we are on a mission to help you get connected with other moms through our national network and in your local community. MomiU is a great opportunity to do just that! And best of all, it’s totally kid-friendly!

What is it?

MomiU is a pretty simple concept. You just gather with a group of moms and discuss an article, story, or video you’ve all shared. We have provided a library of articles, stories, and/or videos to choose from or you can choose your own. You can meet as often as you like in whatever format works best—playgroups, park days, or coffee just with the girls.

How does it work?

MomiU turns any article or current event into a course in liberty! Gather with your fellow moms to dig deeper into the news, commentary, and articles that you see around you every day. Our outline guides you and your friends into a meaningful discussion about topics that matter most to you. Forming a MomiU group provides opportunities to put the information you’re learning into action, as well.

The MomiU format is also great for creating a politically-oriented mommy and me playdate! This format is about as simple as it gets, so it’s great for busy moms who don’t have a chance to prepare beforehand, or moms with littles who aren’t a good fit for more formal political gatherings. Your MomiU group can meet in a living room, at the park, or just with a couple of girlfriends over coffee.

Getting Started

The first thing you will need to do is decide what kind of MomiU group you want to create. If you have toddlers at home, a playdate group may be the best option. However, if you’re looking for a little time away from the kids, meeting with your girlfriends over coffee while the kids are at school may be the best option for you. The day and time you meet, how often you meet, and the way you meet is completely up to you. As you meet you may decide a different day, time, or format will work better for your group. That is totally normal. It doesn’t mean you are failing, it means you and the ladies in your group are figuring out what works best for your own group for the best experience and greatest success.

How often do we meet?

Some MomiU groups meet during on a weekday morning for an hour or two. Others meet on Saturday for coffee so the hubby can watch the kids. Some MomiU groups meet weekly, some meet monthly. If you are enjoying it, it is the right day and amount of time. This is meant to be an enjoyable experience. If it becomes a hardship, that isn’t a sign you need to throw in the towel but simply that an adjustment needs made. Maybe you need to reconsider what time you meet or how often you meet. There is not right or wrong way in how often you meet as long as it works for you.

How many moms should I include in a group?

We recommend keeping your group small and manageable. 3 to 9 moms is an ideal number depending on the kind of group you choose. For instance, you are meeting as just moms taking time away from the kids, then 5 to 9 moms would be a great number. However, if you decide you want to do a playgroup format, you should consider the number of children each mom will be bringing to the meetings. If each mom only has one or two children under 5 years old, then 3 to 5 moms is a good number. How many children are involved and what ages the children are, should definitely be considered.

You will also want to consider the ages of the children. If you have one mom with a seven year-old and all the other children are two years and under that might not work for a play date. Of course where and how you meet would all factor in as well.

Where do we meet?

This, too is based on how you decide to form your group. If your goal is to have stimulating conversation with other moms without the kids, a coffeehouse may be a great place to meet. If you are doing a playgroup format a park is a good option in nice weather. Meeting at playgroup friendly locations, such as family fun centers or community centers are good option during colder weather. And of course your home is always a great option. You can even take turns meeting at each other’s houses to make it more fun for the kids.

How do I build my group?

You would be surprised how many moms there are in your own circle of influence who are looking for an opportunity to meet in a group like this. Just look around you at the moms you know in your church, neighborhood, community center, school activities and wherever you meet other moms. When building your group make sure to keep the kind of group you are forming in mind. If you are using a playgroup format you might want to find moms with kids around the same ages.

Another way to build your grow is through social media. You can post your group and see what kind of response you get. You may be surprised at how many moms like the idea. Social media is also a great way to communicate with the moms in your group. You can start an invite-only group page on Facebook. Texting and email are great ways to communicate as well.

Bottom line is, this is your group. You are starting it and devoting the time to lead it so it should first and foremost work for you and your schedule. If the group gets too big to manage you can always split the group and give one of the moms an opportunity to lead the other group. If more groups are created from yours you may decide to meet altogether once or twice a year for a night out just to enjoy the friendships you’ve created through your MomLink connections in your own community.

What do we do when we meet?

The best part about these meetings is what we do—talk. Because that’s something all moms like to do. This is an opportunity for us to share our thoughts and opinions about what we all read. You as the group leader can lead the discussion or you can have each mom take turns hosting and leading the group. You can use our discussion resources and articles or choose an article from current news/events that interest you. We have created a MomiU Discussion Guide to help you plan and lead your discussions so your meetings are meaningful and inspire thoughtful conversation.

How to Use the MomiU Discussion Guide

We have intentionally kept this format as simple and flexible as possible to give our hostesses the opportunity to best fit the needs of their group. Hostesses can feel free to select more than one article, send out the article ahead of time, use as many of the questions as time allows, or simply discuss one question for each step. Our hope is that no matter the size or experience of your group, this guide will provide a perfect launching point for meaningful and informative discussion!

Download Discussion Guide

Preparation

We know our Mom Link hostesses are busy moms too, so we’ve kept the preparation for this format to a minimum. Once you’ve chosen a date, time, and place, and invited your guests, all you will need to do is select material to discuss in the group. Our MomiU Resource Library provides several topics and articles to choose from. You can also choose your own. The MomiU discussion guide is a great resource to help you decide which questions are best suited to the material you and your group will be looking at.

Discussion

Walk through the questions together over coffee or a playdate for your kids. First, our discussion guide focuses on understanding what the article has to say. Next, we seek to weigh the ideas that were presented against a fixed standard. Then, we focus on the long term effects of the ideas presented. Lastly, our guide directs your group to think about ways they can make a positive impact in the areas discussed in your meeting. Once you have discussed the questions you select from the guide, talk about what action points you are going to take based on what you’ve learned.

Accountability

Take a few minutes at your next meeting to talk about how you put the info from last week into action. This time is not about judgment! We’re all busy moms and our families are our absolute first priority! Celebrate baby steps like sharing the article you read with a friend, inviting a friend to join the group, writing an email to your congressman, or donating a few dollars to an organization that supports the principles you discussed. This group isn’t about being super mom and doing everything, it’s about doing something more this week than you did last week and it’s about doing more together than we could do by ourselves.