The story of the three little pigs is one of my favorites! I have been collecting all different versions of it forever. No matter how slightly different each version of the book I buy is…. the moral of the story always comes out the same…. strength.

But when reading this story to our children what does strength mean to them? How do we relate this story to them with the hopes they will grasp the importance of this word?

Each pig in the story teaches us a lesson. The journey the three pigs are set to go on are a combination of values and skills that have been instilled in them throughout there life.

Each pig is set out with the same goal, to build a house. In addition, they were cautioned to be aware of the big bad wolf.

As parents we prepare our children to head out into the world. We teach right from wrong and good from bad. We hope lessons we teach will surface when they need them. We lay a foundation… like a house…. we build strength in our children…..we build structure….but we must allow for mistakes

The first pig builds a house of straw. Not a very sturdy choice, he finished quickly. We must teach our kids quality matters in everything we do….remind them to slow down and have pride in what they do….. the big bad wolf blows the house down.

The second pig builds a house of sticks. Using his creative talent yet lacking in judgement of protecting boundaries. We teach our kids we can choose who we let into our circle, kindly, humbling and fearlessly. The big bad wolf breaks the boundaries and blows the house down.

But the last pig, he has built his house of brick….strength. He has used his muscles both physically and mentally. He has set a strategy to secure his home… his foundation. He works hard, because things worth doing are worth doing well. Sweet success is worth it. Strength is the mind, the heart and the soul. When you challenge yourself you have built your insides of brick and have shown the world, I am strong. The wolf cannot blow this house down.

The other two bigs have joined the third pig. Because with strength comes team work. There becomes rewards when you work as a team…. with your friends.

The big bad wolf is all the things we are fearful of. Every lesson we teach our child helps fight the wolf. Building our inner brick.

There are so many more reasons why I love the the three little pigs. We can create our own ending to any story. Let’s teach our children to continue to build houses… of love, community and strength.

That’s where I want to live