Momma Loudon

You don’t need to mold your family to fit into the “right” philosophy.

Study the philosophies. Learn the principles behind them. Steal all the principles and philosophies that align with your WHY, your vision, your children, and your family culture.

Then give yourself permission to ditch the rest.

Intentionally create one that specifically supports and enhances your family culture.

👇 Veteran homeschoolers: What’s ONE principle from a philosophy that has most benefited your family?

Tonight, our son opened a letter that will change the next two years of his life.

For those who aren’t familiar with our faith, young adults in our church can choose to volunteer as missionaries…leaving home for 18–24 months to serve others and share their faith in Jesus Christ.

They don’t get to choose where they go.

They submit an application saying they’re willing to serve…and wait to find out where in the world they’ve been assigned.

For Asher, saying yes meant being willing to leave behind a girl, his friends, his job, college, his family…and the entire life he has known.

He has worked for years to save the $10,000 it will cost him to serve.

Technically, he should be starting his senior year of high school right now. Instead, he graduated early with his associate degree and will leave just days after his 18th birthday.

There are a thousand “easier” ways he could have chosen to spend the next two years.

But I am so proud of him for choosing this one.

We’ve spent his whole life preparing him to confidently go out into the world without us and serve…

Tonight, we finally found out where his “yes” is taking him. ❤️

Part 3: Create a vision

Someday, your child is going to leave your home.

Work backwards from THAT day.

Who do you hope they become?

What do you want them to know?

What do you want them to be able to do?

What principles, values, character traits and life skills do you hope they take with them?

Then ask:

What can I do at THIS age and stage in their development to help them become that person?

We’re not just educating children.

We’re preparing future adults.

In part 1, I discussed prioritizing culture over curriculum. In part 2, I discussed the importance of knowing your WHY. In part 3, I talk about the importance of creating a vision.
Next, in part 4, I will discuss homeschool philosophies

One of the fastest ways to become overwhelmed by homeschooling is to start collecting curriculum before you’ve asked the right questions.

There are a MILLION ways to homeschool.

That’s exactly why you need to know YOUR WHY! Why is your family homeschooling?

Once you know your WHY, it becomes a filter.

It helps you decide what deserves your time, what doesn’t, what success looks like for YOUR child…and which well meaning practices aren’t a good fit for your family.

You don’t need to recreate my homeschool. And…PLEASE don’t try to recreate public school at home!!!

You need to intentionally build yours.

That’s what this series is going to help you do.

If you homeschool (or you’re considering it) what’s the ONE question you most want me to answer in this series?

I’m reading the comments and building the next videos around what you actually need.

While this reel mentions homeschooling, it’s a principle that should matter just as much (if not more) if your kid goes to public school.

As a new school year approaches, my inbox is getting inundated with questions about homeschooling.

Predominantly…What curriculum do you use?

But after homeschooling for 2 decades…9 kids with VASTLY different personalities…I’ve become convinced that the curriculum is one of the LEAST important parts of the conversation.

One clarification because I know someone will misunderstand me:

Prioritizing character, identity, executive function, work ethic, and a love of learning does NOT mean we ignore academics.
Obviously we also teach academics. 😂

BUT…A child who can focus, delay gratification, manage their time, tolerate frustration, work independently, ask questions, solve problems, recover from failure, and take ownership of their own education has an enormous foundation underneath whatever academic curriculum you put in front of them.

I’m interested in building the learner before obsessing over the lesson plan.

And one important piece I had to cut from the reel for time:

Our kids don’t have unlimited access to screens….and we don’t own a single video game.

If they happen to get bored? GOOD. 😂

Boredom creates empty space.

And that empty space is often where curiosity, creativity, imagination, projects, books, businesses, experiments, questions, and new interests begin.

So as everyone prepares for another school year, maybe the better question isn’t only:

“What curriculum should I use?”

Maybe it’s:

“What kind of learner am I trying to raise…and what kind of culture would help create them?”

That’s a conversation I could have ALL DAY.

So if you’re homeschooling…or considering it…feel free to ask me anything in the comments. I’ll try to respond to as many questions as I can.

And if there’s enough interest, maybe I’ll turn the most common questions into a homeschool series. ❤️

Strong families don’t just happen….

They’re intentionally built.

I’m Momma Loudon. I’ve spent the last 20+ years raising 9 kids…and because I believe families are eternal, I became obsessed with figuring out what actually makes families strong.

Families where kids know who they are and what they stand for.

Where they learn to work, contribute, solve problems, do hard things and recover when things don’t go their way.

Where confidence comes from competence.

Where agency, responsibility, and accountability gradually replaces dependence.

Where empathy, kindness, and service matter just as much as achievement.

Where parents don’t spend 18 years micromanaging children…but intentionally prepare and empower them to manage themselves, over time.

And where, underneath all of it, relationships matter most.

Because I don’t just want to raise capable kids.

I want to actually LOVE the life we’re building together. ❤️

That’s what this page is about.

Sometimes that looks like a ridiculously simple mom hack that makes a Tuesday afternoon easier.

Sometimes it’s training kids in life skills, executive function, or creating family systems.

Sometimes it’s marriage, money, education, adventure, family traditions, or the culture we’re creating inside our homes.

I don’t have a perfect family.

I’m not interested in pretending I do.

But after 20+ years of raising nine very different humans, I have learned that the small, intentional things repeated over time become the culture of our homes.

And eventually, that culture becomes part of what our children carry with them.

Into adulthood.

Into their relationships.

And someday, into families of their own.

Strong families don’t just happen...

They’re intentionally built.

If you’re trying to build one too, welcome.

You’re my kind of people. ❤️

I’d love to know: What’s ONE thing you most want to intentionally build into your family?

One of the best things I’ve learned raising nine kids:

Before a threat, countdown, lecture, or consequence, ask:

Can I make the behavior or outcome I want…fun?

Gamify the transition.

It works for leaving the park.
Getting in the car.
Putting shoes on.
Cleaning up.
Going to bed.
SO many things.

Parenting is leadership…and sometimes it just requires better marketing. 😂

Save this one for the next time you have to extract your children from somewhere fun.

And send it to the parent whose kid suddenly turns into a possessed octopus when it’s time to leave. 😂

What recurring parenting headache have you solved with a game? I want to hear!

How do you get a fearful child to jump off a 35-foot cliff?

You don’t.

At least… not at first.

You start at 2 feet.

You meet them exactly where they are….where they’re nervous, but willing.

You hold their hand and jump WITH them until they feel brave enough to jump at that same height… alone.

And now they have something they didn’t have before:

EVIDENCE.

Evidence that they were scared…AND…they were able to do it.
Evidence that they can do hard things.

Then you inch just a little bit higher.

Rinse and repeat.

One of the best compliments ever was one our 7-year-old gave my husband for Father’s Day:

“When I’m scared, you do things with me until I am brave enough to do them myself.”

😭

THAT is how you parent. A consistent, gentle stretch.

You don’t shame them for being afraid, compare them to their siblings, or throw them into the “deep end”.

And…you definitely don’t let fear make their world smaller.

Give them encouragement, support, and connection.

Fear can be overcome.
Courage and confidence can be BUILT….One stretch…and one piece of evidence at a time.

🔖 Save this for the next time your kid is fearful

💬 What’s the “2 feet” moment you’re working through with your kid right now? Tell me below …I read every comment.

➡️ Share this with another parent who’s raising a brave kid.

🔔 Follow for more intentional parenting.

People always ask how I do it all with 9 kids.

The secret is….I don’t.

The question that changed everything for me wasn’t “how do I do it all?”

it was…

“What can I let go of in order to prioritize what matters most?”

Wisdom is found in being intentional.

Drop a 🤍 if you needed this today.

And tell me …
what are you letting go of this week?

I wasn’t going to post this….But I think the world needs to hear it.

Two Sundays during our six weeks in Brazil, we were so remote there wasn’t a church congregation of our faith within a four-hour drive.

So we held our own little worship service as a family in our pousada. Then we walked to the village church…a different denomination…and admired its beauty…and the beauty of the faith of the people worshipping there.

We sat together on a pew and had a quiet conversation I hope they never forget.

We discussed that we are more alike than we are different. That you can be rooted in your own faith, and still honor and respect someone else for theirs.

Imagine how much more good we could do in the world if people of faith started linking arms as allies…in serving the less fortunate, spreading light, strengthening families, and making the world kinder and better, together.

That’s what we’re teaching our kids.

If you agree that we could do more good if we unite our efforts to serve the most vulnerable, drop a ❤️ below.