Draw Europe (Draw the World)

My husband is not a fan of this book. The map images aren't exactly correct as they are drawn by the author. She uses the abbreviations for the countries as she writes them on the map. It's not a big problem as she does explain them when they are first used, but if you forget, you need to go back and find the names later. I find that my son knows where to label EE, but he has no idea what country that is.

We are a homeschooling family and in our 7th year of Classical Conversations. We have been using Kristin Draeger's books for almost 3 years now. My children started these books when they were in 3rd and 5th grade. It has helped them "step up" their geography game like I never could have expected. The books are a wonderful way to challenge an older elementary child. They have been invaluable to my children, not only by teaching them to teach themselves geography, but by helping them learn how to work more independently as they grew older. This was especially helpful when they were repeating Cycles in Classical Conversations. My children were able to take ownership of their social studies at a much earlier age than that of myself or my husband.My oldest entered Challenge A (the equivalent to 7th grade in our program) this August, and the preparation these books has provided has been PHENOMENAL. She is breezing through cartography/debate in a much more efficient manner than I ever thought possible.I will admit to being concerned that the "rounded" look of the boundaries in Ms. Draeger's books would prove difficult to switch over to a more "sharpened" look of the actual boundaries of countries, continents, and bodies of water. It hasn't been a problem. My Challenge A student uses a different map to draw from, but she uses Ms. Draeger's books to provide the order in which to draw.As of now, we only own Draw Europe, Draw Africa, and Draw Asia I & II. After seeing what these four have done for my oldest child, I'm going to go ahead and invest in the rest of the "Draw Continent" books for my youngest to work on over the next two years in preparation for Challenge A.All this talk about "Challenge A" and "Classical Conversations" aside--you don't need to be a CC family to reap the benefits of these books. They provide a solid structure in which to learn geography, which opens up the world in a whole new way. My children have a *much* better understanding of history and current events than I did at their age, and I am certain that these books are a large part of why they excel so much at just about any social studies strand they take on.

We have used Draw the USA and are currently using Draw Europe. It's a great introduction to Europe, and I like the author's approach and creativity. It makes geography an accessible subject to all and builds spatial awareness of countries. As a geography person, I think it is an overlooked, underrated subject, and Draw Europe is a great addition to a geography curriculum.One thing we noticed today as we are studying the Balkan countries is that Kosovo is not included in Draw Europe. With a little research I learned that the US and some EU countries recognize the self-declared independent nation of Kosovo (2008) while other nations do not. As a family, we have decided to recognize it because it is listed in our National Geographic World Atlas as an independent nation. As such, we tucked Kosovo into its rightful position in our Draw Europe map and used the temporary ISO abbreviation of XK.

We love these books because they make drawing continents seem simple. Some of the labeling is strange within this book, however, and while the author explains why she labels them the way she does - it’s a bit confusing for someone learning geography. This picture is one example. We just labeled them in a way that made sense to us, but since this book is geared toward children, I feel that the labeling should be straightforward. Otherwise, we really enjoy these books.

My 14 year old son was learning to draw the world and these books worked perfectly! The step by step direction were easy to follow and produced a beautiful map

The actual content of the book is great. It really helps my kids learn to draw their maps. The only problem is that it was only packaged in a bubble wrap envelope and the post office folded it in half to cram it inside my mailbox. If the package had been stamped “Do not bend” and/or had a sturdy piece of cardboard inside to prevent bending I would have been much more satisfied with the delivery. It’s costly for one little workbook and I expected it to be in better shape when I received it.

Overall, I like this book, and my kids like it. The content is user-friendly for kids (and adults) who are either beginning or expanding their knowledge of cartography. However, for me, it's overpriced. It's very thin, and $20 is just way too much for what this is. Check it out at the library if you need it. I bought this to go with a morning time curriculum for our homeschool, and after seeing this in real life, this will be the only book I will purchase of this set. I can see paying $7-8 for this... but 20 seems a bit much!

My son is going through this book, and even though there are so many tiny states, he loves to do it. She writes in a way that is accessible, even to kids, and it keeps them motivated. We do a bit each day, and he's done in a few weeks.

Well, it's a drawing exercise book and you can learn the countries from it. But from the first page to the last it will take you 15 mins at the max! I found the layout confusing and my 10 yo son was frustrated to the point of never finishing the exercise.

Remenber that drawing is a mechanism for understanding what you are seeing. By drawing a map, a child learns geography in a fan and effordless way!

We love this book! I am ordering all in the series. We do Classical Conversations and these are an amazing help! My son looks forward to each days lesson!