Does anyone have a clever way of marking the carpet so that the children know where to sit until they are "trained"? Our carpet is just a solid color and I don't think our principal would go for anything too drastic....any ideas for a temporary place marker?? ( I USED to paint apples on the carpet, but I think my new principal would die if I did that!!) Thanks, Kristie
Doesn't duct tape leave marks on the carpet, like sticky residue? We were told not to use tape on our carpets for that reason. In know that masking tape will eventually mark the carpets, but what about duct tape? I do like that idea.
Our K. teacher has used the smaller size hula hoops that you can get at the Dollar Store. Each child sits inside of one and knows exactly how much "space" is his. They can also be used for many other things: making venn diagrams, setting a board game in the center of, centers, playtime, etc. Just an idea!
That's what I used at Head Start too, cheap, brightly colored plastic placemats from the Dollar Store.
Has anyone ever tried velcroing a name tage to the carpet?? I read on another board to use velcro to attach the name tag....will that work? Thanks for all of your replies! I like the placemat idea--might give that a try.
hmm... I like the little hula hoop idea... that gives them a physical boundary they can feel other than a small marker or a taped line... HMM!!!! I could tape the hoops together so they won't play with each of them... would be too big if they are connected! Lori
I've seen some teachers use small square rements from stores, parents who might just have gotten new carpet using both the old & new.
I have a lot of carpet squares that I got for 25cents each at a salvage store. I thought that would be a great idea... wrong... they kept folding them up on the sides and scooting them. So, I put them up. But remember, I have preschool SPE and some of them have never had to sit still or mind an adult until they get in my room. Lori
I don't think carpet squares would work for me either....my kinders are really bad about playing with them too....but I love the idea of the children having a defined space...too bad our school didn't just buy those really cool rugs from Lakeshore that have different colored squares all on them or the alphabet....they would be perfect! I was realling thinking of something that would not have to be picked up all of the time--because we use the carpet area for other things during center time. I appreciate all of the suggestions!
This doesn't help with your marking off situation, but at Sam's, they have the cutest primary colored foam rubber mats. I think they were four to a package. They hook together and each child gets their own square. They are really easy to clean (sweep, vacuum, mop, etc.). That might cost you a little, but they are truly great and last from year to year. Just don't allow pencils on the foam carpet. At my school, they throw away the carpet if it gets vomitted or peed on, so these were fantastic for us.
I've got some of those mats from Sam's. 8 squares in the pack for around $15 I think. I kept 4 in my room for my "babies" to lay on and gave 4 to the adaptive PE teacher for my "babies" to stretch out on down there. I thought about buying a rug from those companies, but with as many puking and peeing accidents we have in our room at times. The rug would NOT survive!!! LOL Lori
Hi, I'll just throw this in for you to think about... I used to mark the carpet with masking tape. I tried individual names as well as just a straight line of tape to mark a row. The custodians weren't too pleased and I also had some kids that kept trying to pull the tape off. I used individual carpet squares for a while but some kids were picking at the binding. I bought a 300 dollar rug... beautiful, with shapes on it, in the shape of a triangle. I assigned a spot to each kid and I ALWAYS have too many kids that seem to be too far away from me. They also still need reminders about how to sit nicely. Every year I teach summer school where I don't use any of those options...I simply ask kids to sit in a rainbow. (or a smile?) I don't determine where they sit, just how they are to behave. I feel I like this best of all. It's much less problematic. Nothing for kids to pick on, nothing to put away, easy to adapt for different situations. (Move the rainbow back, make it bigger, make it smaller, have two rows, three... rainbow here, there. ) If someone isn't behaving, I just say "please sit here." And no one says, that's my spot! jeanie
Thanks for sharing...and ya know? I think you are right! I have an area rug. The last one I used was blue and I would say, ok sit on the 'blue" rug. When that one wore out, I got a black one with a white border. Now I say, ok, sit on the "black" rug...and it does work quite well! If someone persists in bothering others, I have them sit up closer to me. Sometimes the "spots" are more trouble than they're worth! Last year I did something kind of fun. We have child size chairs and I had them set out in a half circle and that worked just great. No repeating criss cross applesauce 150 times and no on laying down during story time!!!
For marking the rug AND being able to rearrange seats as needed, try laminating (or contact papering) paper die cuts or other name tags. Attach a couple of adhesive dots of the hook side of the velcro to the back of each. They stick to the rug pretty well and can be moved. I've only had a couple of children pull them off, and then you have the child give you his/her name tag for the rest of the group time. You can also put the loop dots of velcro on the back of your chairs and use the same labels to mark seats at the table.
There is this sticky stuff that is not very sticky at all - it can be used on walls and is removable without removing paint or leaving residue. It is mostly used for posters. I don't remember the name of it. It comes in colors and is sold in teacher stores.
Isn't Sticky Tac that gum type of stuff? No, this comes on rolls and is the thickness and feeling of a sheet of craft foam, but is sticky on both sides.
I've seen a teacher get those carpet sample squares, and tape them together (on the wrong side) to make a large carpet of rectangles. Each child can have their own rectangle (assigned seats or not), and the samples are free or cheap, and easily replaed if just one gets stained or torn. You can make it as big or small as needed. Kim
please I beg you! DON'T use FUN Tack on Carpet!!!! it does NOT come out and your janitorial staff will hunt you down! I put myself through college as a cleaning lady in a sorority house, trust me Fun tack does not come out of carpet willingly!
Wal-Mart has alphabet foam squares for under $15.00. They lock together to make a huge puzzle. I let my students take them all over the room to lay on the floor and write or play somewhere quietly. They also have these at Lowe's but they are a little more expensive.
This is what I used for awhile, until my cat started eating it . We now have a small car mat and each of the kids picks a building to sit on. I only have to deal with 6 kids at a time though. The foam squares at Sams are great. I got similar ones from Target. They come 6 in a pack for $10 (I think). They were my favorite (darn cat!!!).
I have used 2 different things that work. One is belting. You can buy it by the yard at JoAnn's and then attach the rough side of velcro to it and it will stick to your carpet. You can make rows with it and pull it up when your not using it. Another thing I have done is use chalk on the carpet. It last for a few days and then you have to remark it. It comes up easy because of all the walking on it and the vaccum.
