Happy almost 4th of July to everyone! Today I am linking up with Debbie from Crockett’s Classroom for Thrifty Thursday!
Do you love those cute classroom rugs that you see in almost every classroom? I do! Unfortunately for me, they are hundreds of dollars! As a new teacher last year, I had so many supplies to purchase with my budget, that there was no money left over, and certainly not enough to buy a rug! So, I thought back to some of the classrooms I subbed in, and decided to go the duct tape route.
This solution worked wonders for the first few weeks of school when Morning Meeting was taking us close to 45 minutes! However, once we really dove into the kindergarten curriculum AND I got my SmartBoard installed (*happy dance*), it was ONLY functional for Morning Meeting. Having the group turn and look at the SmartBoard was a disaster, and then changing to participate in shared reading? Forget about it! I longed for those beautiful color blocked rugs that would so nicely organize my students on the carpet. Well, that was just not on the horizon for this teacher.
My wonderful kindergarten teammate Barb told me about these things called Sit Spots. And let me tell you, they changed my entire year!
Here they are! [Please ignore the unmanicured fingernails.} They are GENIUS! Just $1 each, Sit Spots come in every shape, size, and color you could imagine! You can even get seasonal versions! Since I love neon colors, I selected a different neon color of each of my Sit Spots. I wound up getting 4 neon pink, 4 neon yellow, 4 neon green, and 4 neon blue. I also bought a few extras incase I got a new student throughout the year, which I’m glad I thought to do because I got many new students!
The best thing about Sit Spots is that they VELCRO to the carpet! Why is that so exciting? Well for one, if you are OCD like me and are creating rows that are not exactly straight the first time, you can move the dots! Second, you can change your arrangement throughout the year to fit your needs. Third, the custodians do not hate you because they can easily be vacuumed over, and they don’t come up!
So, for a total of $18, I completely solved my classroom management problem! Each student was assigned to a dot that was theirs whether we were facing the SmartBoard or my chair for shared reading. I could also call the pink row or the green row to go to their table or take bathroom breaks. [I did keep my duct tape for Morning Meeting purposes, but as you can see, my kiddos loved peeling it up] Which brings me to my last point- they are easy to take off the carpet, but quite difficult for young kinder hands, I never had one pull up! [I might have also told my kinders that if I saw them touch the dot and try to pull it off, they would not get a dot to sit on which was the be all and end all because they thought they were the coolest things ever!]
If you’re looking for a solution to your carpet problems and don’t have or don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a rug, consider SitSpots!
Do you have another solution that works for you in your classroom? I’d love to hear about it below!
Gina, I love these sit spots. What a great way to help your kiddos transition without the fighting about where everyone will sit.
Also, thanks for joining the Thrifty Thursday Link-Up on Crockett's Classroom
Debbie
You can also buy rolls of hook Velcro online in many colors. 10 years ago, we bought 4 large rolls for $150 and shared with 4 classes when banned from tapebon carpet ( only came in r,y, b, and g then). We made rows to sit with smaller piece with initial, lines for lineup, boxes for students that needed defined space, letters and shapes, etc. Pull it up and throw in a laundry bag to run through washer and air dry over summer. Still lots left on the roll. Comes in many more colors and widths now, too. Takes awhile for delivery but well worth it.
Another great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Gina
love love love them!
Thank you!!