General Manager of Apologia, Speaker, Homeschool Dad of 9Ladd Lesh is the General Manager of Apologia Educational Ministries and he and April, his bride of 14 years, homeschool their 9 children. Ladd was homeschooled K-12 by pioneering parents and is a graduate of Grove City College. He worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. Joe Pitts (PA-16) before joining Apologia in 2011. Ladd and April have a full and bustling home with nine children. Their favorite nightly routine is family devotions, where Ladd teaches from the Bible and reads (with all the character voices) from their latest chapter book.
Their mission is to raise Godly children and provide practical homeschool advice to families. They are members of Church of the Redeemer (PCA) where Ladd has served as an Elder. Their family resides in South Carolina along with one cow, three dogs, and twenty chickens.
Ladd has spoken at online conferences, in Apologia’s Homeschool Bootcamp, and as a podcast guest on Let’s Talk Homeschool.
For speaking inquiries, please email Michelle Vantrease.
Why should parents consider homeschooling and why now? Ladd exhorts parents not to wait but to start homeschooling for such a time as this. In a culture steeped in post-modern thinking, and in the midst of societal unrest and sickness, homeschooling is on the rise. Ladd tackles head-on the issues of why parents should start homeschooling their children and why parents should keep homeschooling their children.
If you are a parent, you’ve got one: a firstborn. Whether you view them as your guinea pig or your class president, there is a lot that rests on their shoulders or so they think. Ladd brings his
personal experience growing up firstborn in a homeschooling family of four.
Through this workshop, he presents the unique position and opportunity firstborns have to influence siblings, as well as their susceptibility to be influenced by family dynamics and pressure to succeed. Ladd shares insight on navigating the teacher/parent balance when your pupil is a strong-willed, natural-born leader.
Many parents have wonderful intentions when they choose to home school. Whether they hope to protect their children from immoral behavior or whether they desire adult influence, homeschooling provides tremendous opportunities for children and their families.
Homeschooling, however, is not the key to the kingdom of heaven. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can renew and redeem the soul. In this talk, Ladd urges parents not to get comfortable in the safety of their home school, but to take advantage of the remarkable opportunity to be salt and light to their children. Home schools, just like every other Christian endeavor, must be saturated in the gospel.
