I have moved to a new school and my room does not have a rug. I would like one that is not huge, but that the class (20) can fit on. Any suggestions on sizes? I saw a 6x8 rug, but it seemed too small.:thanks:
I can fit my class of 20 onto my 12 x 8, but it is a tight squeeze. A 6x8 would be too small. Rugs of this size are very expensive. I found one at a clearance center (it was brand new, but has a slight flaw), but I know of others who have gotten one through craigslist, freecycle, or at a garage sale.
I'd pick up a couple of rugs at walmart. I got my 6x8 there. They run $20. You could get 2 and just run them up together.
Exactly what I was thinking. One of my coworkers did this. I think she put strong tape on the back of the rugs down the seam to hold them together.
if you have any local carpet stores, you might be able to get a remnant donated.. I'm going to be asking around tomorrow. I have been told that sometimes they will give remnants to teachers for their classrooms. definitely worth a try
I need to try the remnant thing. Otherwise, Home Depot has some indoor/outdoor carpet that will cost me about $70 for a 9x16 piece.
Please be careful of buying a used carpet for your room. If there was a pet in the home and the carpet was not cleaned properly you may end up getting something unusable. Also, if a student is allergic to dogs or cats you may not be able to use it.
Two years ago, I had to remove my rug altogether -- and it was brand new! I had a student who was allergic to the backing on carpet. (She also had massive other allergies that had to be managed.) Of course, I undersetood, but I do so much "at the carpet" and I couldn't do it that year. I did get some woven rugs (scatter rugs with no backing) just so 2 kids could sit together on the floor and read or play a game. I was glad to have a rug again last year!
I once saw that the dollar store had some straw mats that would fit at least 2 students. That's a possibility for anyone who can't use carpets.
Unfortuantely, straw and hay were another allergen. Straw often is an allergen. We used the nylon woven scatter rugs (think back to your grandma's kitchen --- well, you are probably too young, so think back to MY grandma's kitchen )
I would caution against buying cheap-o rugs. I bought one from Walmart one time. It was plenty big enough, but the carpet fibers came out real easy and then that encouraged the kids to pick at it.
I am considering combining a few rugs... or purchasing one large rug if it is under $100 (no more than that!). Question at the same time, though- Why does everyone have to have a rug? Not that I don't want one (I do), but I was thinking that recently. What if your class already has industrial carpeting that isn't the worst?
I have an industrial carpet in my room, but added a colorful one for morning meetings. My class is young and are on the floor a lot. When my own children were in elementary school, they only had rugs in K and 1st and maybe 2nd. After that, the rooms weren't big enough for desks and a carpeted area. In older districts, the schools don't have a lot of space. One school in our town just turned 100. It's beautiful, but obviously lacking state of the art classrooms. Not many rugs.
