How I instill Patriotism in our Homeschool.

Thursday Link Up with The HomeSchool Village asks: How do you instill a love for country during your homeschool time?

[The Fourth of July] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.- John Adams

Wow. I love this topic. I have written before of the subject of being a Christian Nation and with that Patriotism is key. I feel my family is example of a true patriots!! Why?? We live as a military family. Army of One, Family of One --I like to say. Yes, I do believe that every citizen should have a certain large amount of patriotic duty to their country. In my opinion, patriotism has declined immensely in our country...and I find that most discouraging to our country and her future. Why the decline? I believe it has everything to do with people who are not of the Christian faith trying to chip away the ideals and foundations that America once stood for. Because of this fact, whether you agree or not, liberties in this country is on a downward slope...this is one of the reason why we went from public school to homeschool.

To instill patriotism in our homeschool, we say the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of 'school' day, and sing the national anthem as well. We are trying to learn the whole song, and not just the first verse. We read from our bible, and we live day to day as a military family. I do believe that there is a sense of duty, honor, and patriotism when they see their Daddy everyday get into his uniform and go to 'work.' With current and possible deployments, kids see first hand that "Freedom is not Free." Military children have a certain aspect on life because of their world around them...they are not alone. There are hundreds, thousands of military children who have been going through this war along side their parents.

Patriotism is a way of life for us. It's not everyday that children get to see a Change of Command, a Memorial service with full veteran honors, or even a celebration like- The Army's 235th Birthday!! or waiting for a convoy to pass so that we can get to the library! It's an awesome experience, but more importantly, it can be a difficult life as well-knowing how to put it into perspective is key. So, I would say that our environment serves as a 'teacher' to our boys that serving our country, whether as a Active-duty member, Military spouse, or Family Member--is just part of our lives and we should learn from it -the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Benjamin's Artwork,age 8


Books that I have enjoyed and or curriculum that I have enjoyed for the boys are:

1. American Heritage Foundation, Inc. (free curriculum) --it's AWESOME! (did a review here)

2. The History of Us by Joy Hakim (we'll start this series this year SY 2010-2011)

3. Independence Day by homeschool bits (free item on Currclick)
Hint: I love Currclick.com free stuff!!!

4. Democracy vs Republic (again mini-book freebie--learning about our government in detail, I feel helps gain the knowledge about what being an American stands for or what it stood for in the beginning)

5. Unit Studies or Lapbooks are awesome to use with my boys for understanding our Patriotism also.

6. Homeschool: An American History by Milton Gaither (good read, still reading it)

7. The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen (I want to read as 'aloud' book to the boys this year)

We have this day [Fourth of July] restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His Kingdom come.- Samuel Adams

To read about other homeschoolers and patriotism, please go here.