The American Heritage Education Foundation believes that “Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility are ideals that are rapidly declining or disappearing in their [our children’s] teaching and learning not only in our K-12 public and private schools but also in our colleges and universities of higher education. A nation built on these ideas and theories cannot possibly survive if those same philosophical and historical principles are not studied, taught, learned, practiced, and reinforced in our schools and institutions attended by the next generation of young people.”

To counteract the lack of knowledge regarding the foundation our country is built upon, American Heritage Education Foundation developed a supplemental curriculum that is designed to address these very issues.  The purpose for the lessons are not simply to offer the students basic information; but to provide activities and projects which emphasize the significance of the events that led to the formation of our country’s early beginning, and the major documents that set the United States apart from any other  nation.

The AHEF resources are divided into three levels; which touch upon all, or some of the four themes (Freedom, Unity, Progress and Responsibility) vital to this curriculum:

• Elementary
• Middle Grades
• High School

Originally designed for the public school classroom, homeschooling families can easily adapt the material to fit their needs.  Each level provides an ample selection of lessons to choose from.   For those families with a wide range in ages, the units can be used in conjunction with each other. They have enough similar content, but with slightly more difficult material for older children; so that the whole family can easily study it at the same time.

The AHEF had made this material free for all to use.  You can download right from their site as needed, if you have good internet access. You may also request their free CD (good for those with dial-up) which contains all 3 levels, or their printed version for a fee of $19.50 [per level].  There is a wealth of information provided in these lessons, which are presented in an orderly, and easy to follow fashion.  It is recommended that one spends some time going through the site to further learn about the American Heritage Education Foundation. 

The TOS Crew received the CD to explore.  Each reviewer chose lessons based on their children’s ages and skills, so they could provide you with more insight regarding this product.