How Do You Encourage Patriotism in Your Children?

Patriotic parents who wish to instill patriotism in their children will take advantage of the next eleven months as the United States ramp up announcements of celebrations for the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Such patriotic parents can have powerful influence on their communities, states, and nations.

The Heritage Foundation is encouraging non-profit organizations to develop materials and programs to reinvigorate patriotism by giving awards known as America’s 250^th Innovation Prize. The foundation recently gave Sophia Institute for Teachers, a Catholic publishing house, an award of $50,000 for “developing resource kits to help Catholic schools and parishes reinvigorate patriotism by exploring the Declaration of Independence ahead of America’s 250^th anniversary. The kits are designed for all grade levels, from elementary through high school,” according to an article authored by Philip Roberts, an intern at The Daily Signal. 

The Sophia Institute project was titled “Fostering Virtuous Patriotism: Celebrating America’s 250^th Anniversary in Catholic Schools.” It includes interactive activities, lesson plans, and guides for family discussions that examine founding principles such as courage, equality, and justice.”

“In an age of decreased civic literacy among students, the Sophia Institute addresses the need by providing tailored resources to ignite patriotism within our Catholic schools,” said Bridgett Wagner, executive director of Heritage’s Edwin J. Feulner Institute, at the award ceremony.

Sophia Institute President Charlie McKinney said, “[W]e’re deeply excited to now be focusing on a new curriculum that helps young people understand the moral ideas and the ideals and the virtues that underpin our founding documents.” …

Heritage awarded a total of five America’s 250^th Innovation Prizes. In addition to the Sophia Institute, other recipients included Cana Academy, Emergent Order Foundation, Herzog Foundation Institute, and Matthew Mehan of Hillsdale College.

Heritage has since announced a second round of the America’s 250^th Innovation Prizes because of the success of the first round. Applications for the second round are due by Sept. 2.

If you are a leader in an organization, it might be wise to at least check out the requirements for winning one of the prizes given out by Heritage. If you are a parent of minor children (ages birth to 18), you can check out the organizations that win the prizes, or you can make your own curriculum for instructing your children. I feel certain that more and more resources will become available as we move towards Independence Day 2026.

Patriotic parents can encourage patriotism in their children by teaching them all the good things about America and Americans. These parents can look for stories of patriotism in the lives of every-day Americans. They can also look for patriotic stories from the history of our nation. By doing so, such parents can strengthen their family, community, state, and nation.