Europe Puzzle Map

The Europe Puzzle Map breaks the continent into pieces a child picks up one at a time, so every country is first a shape in the hand and only then a name. One way to work is to take the whole map apart onto the table and rebuild it from the outside inwards, since a country set down in the wrong place leaves the last pieces with nowhere to go. Taking Poland out and setting it back between its neighbours teaches borders as a physical fit instead of lines to memorise. From here the work grows naturally into tracing outlines, labelling and later flags and landmarks. For children from three years.