Tot Talk Sign Language Made Simple Educational Placemat for Kids – Made in USA – Durable, Double-Sided, American Sign Language with Alphabet, Numbers, & Activities– Waterproof, Wipeable, 17.5” x 11.5”

This placemat makes it fun to learn cursive. Did you know that many schools are cutting the amount of time they spend teaching cursive handwriting? Some schools are dropping it from the curriculum entirely as they focus on other requirements. This placemat is large, well designed and sealed in high quality lamination. Each letter begins with a dot and arrows lead the student through the strokes... which is important to correctly link the letters together. Some of the practice workbooks I purchased did not have the arrows and were difficult for a beginner. Use your own dry erase markers to trace the letters. Space is provided to practice each letter on your own without tracing. On the flipside there are words and short sentences as well as blank lines to write your own compositions. Recent studies from Norway's Stavanger Univeristy - and linked to U.S. universities, including Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma Washington - show that writing original thoughts in cursive stimulates more regions of the brain than any other form of written / typed communication. We can't ignore this skill. Our kids deserve what they can gain from this skill and this placemat can encourage them to learn at home if our schools aren't able cover this topic.

My son has been loving practicing cursive with this mat. It is laminated and sturdy, not flimsy like many other mats. I like that it’s reusable, much unlike similar products that are disposable, so it’s more earth friendly. I immediately ordered another once this one arrived.

Bought 2 of these for my grandkids to go along with the ASL flashcards. Great for fun learning. They had one yrs ago and they really did learn from it.

I loved the product. Unfortunately it came bent and it is laminated and not flexible, so we will use it, but I am disappointed that it was bent when I received it and it does not lie flat on the table. Hopefully this review will be read and there can be some improvement on packaging.

This placemat is awesome! My preschooler is learning the alphabet in school and this is a great accompaniment. It is especially fun to be able to draw on the back and practice writing the letters. It makes a great gift too. What's better than being able to learn while spending time together at meals?

I wanted to return to cursive writing but I forgot how to write some of the capital letters. Since we already enjoy other educational placemats (and we're teenager and older), I ordered this to help me out. It seems to be very durable and easy to clean while reminding me of how to write in cursive.

Perfect for my 5 year old! Has the arrows for self teaching, or the extreme independent ones that want to teach themselves only. Heavy thick construction and easy to wash. I'll be buying more as I'm a stickler for my kids to learn and master cursive.

My sons loves this. He started teaching himself sign language when he found a show on netflix called "Signing time with Alex and Leah". We do our ABCs in the morning and we spell his name. He's getting very good at it and I see him just looking at it and doing the signs while eating. Cool. It turns out Signing Time has moved from netflix. [...] Anyway. Great mat.