Wreaths Across America launches new program

COLFAX—Wreaths Across America (WAA) launched a new TEACH program earlier this year. The program, which was put together by retired educator and Gold Star Mother Cindy Tatum, shares an established curriculum designed to teach the next generation about the value of their freedom. In the past few months, this program has become wildly popular with professional educators and homeschoolers. Last month alone, it received over 2,000 individual downloads.

The program consists of stories of courage and character, regularly introducing new educational materials, and most recently there are lesson plans specifically related to Veterans’ Day. The program also focuses on character development and service projects for young people of all ages. The program is free to download from http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/teach, it’s also available to all educators and homeschoolers on Teachers Pay Teachers, and the curriculum encompasses all grades starting at kindergarten through senior year of high school.

Lesson plans for all grade levels and learning abilities have been designed by WAA’s Education Liaison, Cindy Tatum. “Being a part of helping Wreaths Across America teach younger generations about the value of freedom and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms, is something I know I am supposed to be doing and I know my son Daniel would want me to do,” said Tatum, a Gold Star Mother who lost her son who was serving in the USMC on Christmas Eve. “I want America’s youth to learn that as citizens of this world, there are things they can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that they can do every day.”

The service-based curriculum is designed to share educational materials from philanthropic and patriotic organizations like The United States of America Vietnam War commemoration, the American Rosie Movement, Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and IKEducation at the Eisenhower Foundation. WAA has developed a Veterans’ Oral History Project for youth from fourth to 12th grades that encourages young people to interview a veteran, service member, or Gold Star Family member to learn about the military sacrifices and teach the next generation the value of freedom.

“As a volunteer, founding family member, and mother of six kids and grandmother to nine, whose lives have been greatly impacted by the opportunity to meet so many in the military community, I know that the teaching aspect of our mission is the most important,” said Wreaths Across America Executive Director Karen Worcester, “Finally, this long-standing desire to develop a more robust education program took a giant step forward with the launch of this expanded program. I am thrilled to see that so many educators are already seeing value in the materials and hope that more will have the opportunity to utilize these important lesson plans in their classrooms.”