Washington came first, but Jefferson makes a more lasting impression. That's what my children decided last summer during a Meet the Presidents tour of Virginia and Washington. Before this trip, my kids' knowledge of George and Thomas was as flimsy as an old dollar bill. Jefferson was basically just that guy on the nickel. No, they had no idea until we visited Monticello, Jefferson's home outside Charlottesville.
Kids usually find homes of dead presidents boring.
Sorry, George, but mine found Mount Vernon underwhelming. But they liked Jefferson's gadgets, and they became fascinated with his graveyard. We visited Monticello in August, when it was very hot and very crowded. We had plenty of time to wander the grounds, and we wisely chose to walk along Mulberry Row, where the slaves lived, down a half-mile path to the family graveyard. My daughters studied every gravestone they could read through the massive iron gates.