Laddie By Kimberly Wing

Laddie was one of the very first books I read when we started home schooling.  What I really enjoyed about the book was the example of the father.  He was focused on his kid’s education, but he didn’t preach about it; he set the example about learning.  He made it a priority in their lives.  He wanted his wife to be educated, but recognized her responsibilities in having a large family, so he would read to her nightly.  This impressed me greatly.  I did not have a love for reading when we started home schooling.  I knew I needed to start reading and learn to enjoy it.  My husband set the example for our family.  He would come home from work and sit down in the library and read for about four hours a night.  We could all see him snuggled up in the recliner reading.  The kids would go in and visit and sometime sit on his lap while he read to them.  At dinner he would tell us about the book he was reading and share something enjoyable about the book.  It was motivating to hear him tell a teaser about the book.  I began to get excited about some day reading that book.
We also began to do what we called “Daddy devotionals” at night, similar to the father in Laddie. Warren would pick a book like God, Family Country by Ezra Taft Benson.  He would read and then explain the book to us. We went through all kinds of books, but our favorite is always history.
  One of our big goals as a family was to understand the Constitution better and the founding fathers.  Warren started teaching Principles of Liberty classes.  The first book we started with was the 5000 year leap.  This was an eye opening book.  It helped me understand the 28 Principles the founding fathers understand and how they could put together a constitution.  We invited friends and neighbors to join in on this free class.  It helped us form a community of like minded people.  This was a key part of Laddie, their community.
I loved the idea of lead by example, especially when it’s the father of the home.  They are the Patriarch of the home and their example of loving to learn as a personal priority is huge.  Because of my husband’s example I began to pick up books and take free time to read.  I now have a love of learning and it all started with my husband’s example.  We turned off the TV and changed our living room into a library.  We bought good classical books to fill the shelves.  A love to read attitude is what we want our kids to have for the future.  And it all began with the example of the father in Laddie.