REVIEW: Draw and Write Through History

This is a review for Mama Buzz and the product, Draw, Write Through History, was provided by CPR Publishing.

The book, Draw and Write Through History written by Carylee Gressman and illustrated by Peggy Dick contains many jewels to help teach your child history, review what they are learning in the Bible, or give them a chance to see how far their artistic skills can take them! There are several sections in the book ranging form Creation all the way through Jonah. Each section contains step by step directions both written and illustrated. Illustrations, from my unartistic point of view range from very simple to very complex. So, this gives the young artist a chance to pick and choose what could be simple, challenging or extremely difficult. At the end of each section, there are two paragraphs written in cursive for the artist to copy. These are both historically and Biblically accurate. The writing exercise also provides great practice on handwriting skills. Professor Doodle is a cartoon character who takes the student step by step to draw anything from a pyramid to Moses.

After discussing our family worship time and what we had been studying, I gave Zoe the book and we flipped through and found a section on Joseph and Moses. We began looking at the figures, and Zoe decided she wanted to try her hand at Joseph. Now, Zoe can get pretty aggravated when she can't do something right. Something we are constantly having to work with her on. So, I carved out an afternoon to sit with her and work with her. She did an amazing job with the drawing (if I do say so myself). I was quite worried that she would just lose it, but she was pretty patient and I did my best to keep the mood light and fun.

The directions are to the point. There even tips on shadowing, reflection, and other artistic techniques. It was a great chance to build confidence in Zoe as she worked on Joseph. I focused on the positive aspects and ignored the things that may have been harder.

The only problem we really ran into the with the book was that Zoe is not writing cursive yet. She can read some cursive but had to have some help with other words. We worked through that and she copied down the sentences in print.

Draw and Write Through History: Creation through Jonah by Carylee GRessman and illustrated by Peggy Dick is a great supplement to history curriculum (if you homeschool) or worship time. It reinforces Biblical truths, handwriting and history. This is a great opportunity for children who enjoy art to learn basic steps to drawing as well as all the other good things mentioned above! This book, along with three other Draw and Write books sales for $12. You can check out their books here. Not sure if your little one would enjoy it. Check out this sample lesson with them!