Empowering Moms • Promoting Liberty • Raising Patriots

Español

Moms for America, Stronger than Ever
||
Empowering Moms • Promoting Liberty • Raising Patriots

Cottage Meeting Minis - Moms for America
Moms For America Ghosted Logo
Cottage Meeting Minis - Moms for America

Cottage Minis

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. Cottage Minis are a great opportunity to do just that! And best of all, it’s totally kid-friendly!
Cottage Minis - Moms for America

“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

What Is It?
How Does It Work?
Getting Started
Meeting FAQs
Discussion Guide

What Is It?

Cottage Minis are especially designed for moms of young children in mind but moms at any stage of life can enjoy this fun, easy way to connect and discuss liberty-promoting principles in any venue. Whether it’s getting the kids together for a playgroup or coffee with the girls, this is “mommy time” you’ll totally enjoy!

Cottage Minis are 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?

Cottage Minis helps you turn 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 Cottage Minis group provides opportunities to put the information you’re learning into action, as well.

The Cottage Minis 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 little ones who aren’t a good fit for more formal political gatherings. Your Cottage Minis 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 a Cottage Minis 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 Cottage Minis 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 Cottage Minis 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 Cottage Minis Discussion Guide to help you plan and lead your discussions so your meetings are meaningful and inspire thoughtful conversation.

How to Use the Cottage Minis 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!

Preparation

We know our Cottage Minis 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 Cottage Minis Resource Library provides several topics and articles to choose from. You can also choose your own. The Cottage Minis 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.

Cottage Minis Resources

Everything you need to get your Cottage Minis group started!

Anchored In Hope
No Place Like Home
Ladies First
Foundation of Faith
Valor of Virtue
Patriotism
America, Share the Story
Capture the Sunshine
Time to Sow
Wheat and Chaff
Law of Harvest
Raising a New Generation of Patriots
Cottage Minis - Anchored In Hope - MFA

Anchored in Hope

This presentation will introduce you to Moms for America®, provide an overview of the MFA mission, and introduce you to the four fundamentals of liberty. Click on the links shown here to download the PDF Documents.

Cottage Minis - No Place Like Home

No Place Like Home

This presentation will introduce the significant role of the home and family in society, introduce the Pillars of Liberty, and established the principle that liberty begins at home. 

Cottage Minis - Ladies First

Ladies First

This presentation will help women realize their powerful influence in their home and family, the community, and the nation; that if we are to heal our nation, we must begin by first educating ourselves.

Cottage Minis - Foundation of Faith

Foundation of Faith

This presentation will illustrate how God and faith were instrumental in the founding of America; that Faith is the Pillar of Liberty which laid the foundation where liberty could grow and prosper.

Cottage Minis - Valor of Virtue-MFA

Valor of Virtue

This presentation will introduce the second Pillar of Liberty – Virtue, illustrate how and why a virtuous citizenry is vital to sustaining liberty, and introduce the concept of “public virtue”.

Cottage Minis - MFA - Patriotism

Patriotism

This presentation will introduce the Pillar of Patriotism as a matter of the heart, manifested through devotion to a cause higher than oneself – not for what the Patriot knows in his mind, but for what he understands in his heart. This leads to lasting dedication to living and promoting the principles of liberty.

Cottage Minis - MFA - America Share The Story

​America, Share the Story

This presentation will introduce the powerful influence of stories in promoting liberty and raising patriots. Stories are a powerful medium to teach the three pillars of liberty and is the most effective method for planting seeds in the heart.

Cottage Minis - MFA - Capture The Sunshine

Capture the Sunshine

This presentation will introduce the essential need of “Sunshine” in our lives, just as a plant needs sunshine to grow healthy and strong.  We will discuss why expressions of gratitude and recordings of inspirational thoughts are essential to capturing the sunshine in our lives.

Cottage Minis - MFA - A Time to Sow

Time to Sow

This presentation will introduce the power of family dinner hour and quality family time to strengthen your family and promote a foundation of freedom in the home. The concept of self-government will also be introduced.

Cottage Minis - MFA - Wheat and Chaff

Wheat and Chaff

This presentation will introduce the Constitution of the United States as established by our Founding Fathers. It utilizes the analogy of separating the wheat from the chaff to distinguish between the original Constitution and the misinterpretations of today.

Cottage Minis - MFA - Law of the Harvest

Law of Harvest

This presentation will introduce the concept of family reliance and escape government dependency. You will discover how a free people can use the principles of economics to gain prosperity. The most effective department of health, education and welfare for the nation begins in the home.

Cottage Minis - MFA - Raising a Nation of Patriots

Raising a New Generation of Patriots

This presentation will introduce activities and learning experiences that can be used to teach the next generation.  Whether your family participates in public school, private school or home school, this presentation will boost your confidence in educating the next generation about the principles of liberty.

Cottage Meeting Resources

Presentation #7 – America: Share the Story

PRESENTATION INTRO VIDEO

PDF ARTICLES FOR DOWNLOAD

Patriot's Reading List - Categorized by Age

Patriot’s Reading List & Resources

Compiled by Kimberly Fletcher

Are You Just Reading to Them?

by Rachel DeMille

AUDIO BOOKS & STORIES

My America Story Book

Libraries of Hope

Once Upon A Time

by Sara DeMille

Three Little Pigs

Storybook

My World Story Book

Libraries of Hope

The 5000 Year Leap

The 5000 Year Leap
by Cleon Skousen,
Also available at the National
Center for Constitutional Studies

Promises of the Constitution

Promises of the
Constitution

by Pamela Romney Openshaw

Raising a Generation of Patriots - Moms for America

The Story of the Pilgrims
by Katharine Ross

Promises of the Constitution

The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving
by Ann McGovern

Stories of American History - Cottage Meetings - Moms for America

Stories of American History
by Mara Pratt

Monumental Movie - Kirk Cameron

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving
by Eric Metaxas

Agenda: Grinding America Down - Documentary

Three Young Pilgrims
by Cheryl Harness

Hearts Full of Thanks Giving by Bonnie Johnson Fite

Hearts Full of Thanks Giving
by Bonnie Johnson Fite

Promises of the Constitution

The Pilgrim Hypothesis
by Timothy Ballard

Monumental Movie - Kirk Cameron

Freedom Series
12 Volumes

Johnny Tremain - Cottage Meeting Resources

Johnny Tremain
by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Charlottes Web - Cottage Meeting Resources

Charlotte’s Web
By E. B. White

Miracle of America Coloring Book - Cottage Meeting Resources

The Miracle of America Coloring and Activity Book
by Brian P. Trotter

Hobomok & Thanksgiving - Cottage Meeting Resources

Hobomok and Thanksgiving
by Rebekka Parry

Monumental Movie - Kirk Cameron

The Read-Aloud Handbook
by Jim Trelease

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl - Cottage Meeting Resources

Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
by Kate Waters

Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times - Cottage Meeting Resources

Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times
by Kate Waters

The Miracle of America Birth of a Nation

The Miracle of America Birth of a Nation
by Brian P. Trotter and William S. Norton

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower - Cottage Meeting Resources

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune
by P. J. Lynch

Hands of Heaven - Inspirational Video

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A Mother's Influence - Inspirational Video

Story Teller Collection

Marshall Cavendish

Cottage Meeting Resources #7 - Rapunzel Story Video

Rapunzel Story

Bedtime stories for kids in English

The Invisible Woman Video

The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Invisible Woman Video

Rumpelstiltskin

Cottage Meeting Resource Guide

The Cottage Meetings
Resource Guide

Seminar 1 - Healing of America - Virtual Cottage Series - Moms For America

Healing of America Series
God’s Hand in the Building of America
Events and people who prepared the way.

Cottage Meetings for Kids Logo New

Check out our kid-friendly version of the Cottage Meeting series, it is presented through fun and engaging activities, while teaching your children the principles of faith, family and freedom. Your kids will love it!