If you have never heard of America’s Heritage, I encourage you to check out their website and FREE educational materials at:  http://www.americanheritage.org.  This is a non-profit company dedicated to the teaching of America’s History to young people in our country, promoting freedom, unity, progress and responsibility.  On their website you can request a free CD or download of their K-12 Lesson Plans. I will note here that the CD I received in the mail from them required I have Adobe Acrobat 6.0, which is ancient.  Since I didn’t want to downgrade from Adobe Acrobat 9, I tossed the CD and downloaded the material directly from the website.  It is unfortunate that they don’t take the time to “upgrade” this since the CD’s will be useless to most people with newer computers.

I like the way this material is written.  It is engaging and brings to light things I don’t remember learning in school (I don’t really remember learning much of anything in school, but I digress).  One excerpt I read that brought me to tears.  As told in “The Price They Paid”:
“Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds and the hardships of the Revolutionary War.  Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.  Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.  Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. found that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.  John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His field and his grist mill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.  Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.  Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of purpose and education. They had security, but they valued freedom more.” (Hildreth)

Alright, so that is fascinating information to know.  Now let me explain the issue I have with this material and frankly, almost all history material.  If I read the above excerpt as a student and did not truly understand the kind of relationship these men had with God, I would not read that and think, “Oh, wow, that is so great that they sacrificed all that.”  I would probably think, “Better them than me.”  To me, history is an empty shell without understanding the driving force behind the men and women who were responsible for bringing us our freedom.  WHY did they risk everything?  Why were they compelled to stand out from the rest?  History is nothing more than the story of those who stood out and made a difference.  If we truly want our children to embrace the same love for freedom that our founding fathers had, we have to give them a reason WHY. What was America built on that was so special?  Was it just about free enterprise, wealth, and the ability to do whatever you want?  If that were the case, why is America so unhappy today?

As a homeschool parent I understand their passion and willingness to sacrifice everything and am able to portray that to my “students.”  It is unfortunate for those in public education that they don’t have the freedom to do this.  For this reason I think this material would be an excellent source for public school students.  If you are going to use it in your homeschool, be flexible to have these types of discussions while you are studying the material, but don’t leave out the WHY.

If you are non-religious but want to teach your child history that has been preserved and not changed to suit political interests, I definitely think you would enjoy this material.