Painless Learning Presidents Placemat Black 23 x 19 x 10 inches

The placemat is cheap, smaller than a poster (i.e. portable), and laminated. It has the names of the presidents (with middle initials, not full middle names), the years they served, their birth and death years (if they have died), their political party, the names of their vice presidents, and in some cases the number of months they served (such as William Henry Harrison who served only one month). If the president died in office, was assassinated, or resigned that information is also included. The placemat also includes the oath of office and the requirements for being president of the U.S. In addition, it lists Grover Cleveland twice with two different pictures (he served two nonconsecutive terms). On the back of the placemat there is a "game": the pictures are mixed up and you can fill in the information with a dry erase marker. I bought this placemat along with a similar poster. The poster had slightly nicer pictures, but was missing President Obama (he is on the placemat, so apparently it has been updated). The poster also included only the dates they served as president. This placemat is an excellent value and learning tool. My husband and I have enjoyed looking at all the information and have become interested in researching the different presidents about whom we know so little. The only improvement I can think of is to include their middle names. If they would fit on here, then birth and death places would be nice, but then this would become a booklet . . .

Learning history is part of why we are where we are today. Also, cool to learn our country's leaders of today and yesterday.

I bought several educational placemats about 8 years ago when my kids were little. The youngest is now 11, and we pull these out for crafts occasionally. Whenever I do pull these out, the presidents one is the last to be put away. The kids (ranging from 11 to 24) all enjoy looking at the pictures, biographical information, and the basic stats. Granted, info given is limited, but I find it fascinating how many times our dinner conversations have been started by THIS placemat in particular. Who was the shortest president? (Guesses based on placemat, then google for the answer.). Who was the oldest? Who was the fattest? Why did Roosevelt stay prez so long? Why did so many did in office? It’s a great placemat, and since ours stopped with 44, I suppose I should get the updated placemat. As for durability, ours help up so well. I’m not sure if they use the same materials now. Will update as needed.

We used these placemats to teach our Granddaughter about the presidents. She could name them in order by the first grade! Now she is in college and can still name them, give their party, political affiliation, years of service. We've replaced them several times over the years and hope to give her child the same advantage of an early education.

Excellent quality! Very sturdy, clear, and great size, especially for the price.

Quality: Excellent quick reference of presidents and their terms.

Rather than whining about dinner taking too long (seriously, I am not making gourmet meals here, but food takes time to get ready!!!), my kids are looking at their placemats entertained AND learning something new! My 5 year old daughter loves looking at the presidents. You might think it's too advanced for a 5 year old, but it's not. She notes their names "Hey mom, there are two George Bushes!", she noticed that there were NO women who were presidents (she's determined she will make the presidential placemat one day), and she noticed a lot of presidents had longer hair! This placemat is really sturdy, easy to clean and nice pictures that are appealing to kids. I bought a bunch of these placemats and each meal my kids get to pick out which one they want. I also like that these are super easy to keep clean and the shifting of plates, bowls, silverware, cups is not scratching my table! Why didn't I buy these sooner!?!?!

So I absolutely had to change my review to 5 stars!!!! My original review is listed below. I hadn’t even started the return process yet and the seller has already sent replacements to me (without Biden pictured as that is what I ordered) Very pleased with this product now! Great quality, appears to be durable and I love that they are write on wipe off to test your knowledge on the black and white photo side. Thank you for making it right! I am thrilled now!!! I sincerely appreciate how fast this was corrected! 😊😊😊 ************ Soooo... product itself is great... good quality seems durable. However... when I ordered it Biden was not pictured on it and it stated the first 45 presidents would be on it... not the 46th. I wanted one without Biden but he has been added. They need to correct the photo to the current product being sold. I was quite disappointed this was not what I thought I was ordering.