Classroom Rug Safety: Part I

Shopping for classroom decorations and other creative and unique teaching tools is definitely a lot of fun but there are certain (important) things to keep in mind when bringing various items into the classroom, especially when it comes to carpeting or any other flooring solutions.

When it comes to kids, safety has to be a primary factor and there are two main areas you should consider before purchasing a classroom carpet: fire safety and air quality.

In this blog post, we are going to focus on the first of those two aspects, fire safety. In a future blog post we will dive into the importance of CRI Green Label Plus eco-friendly classroom rugs.

Flammability Rating

It’s not something anyone likes to think about, but school fires do happen. Just take a look at these statistics:

• An estimated 4,060 structure fires involving pre-school through grade 12 buildings were reported every year from 2007 to 2011.
• Half of these fires were intentionally set.
• About 24% of these fires were contained trash or rubbish fires.

Every school must abide by national, state and local fire codes that were written, and are enforced through inspections, in order to ensure that the learning environment is as safe as possible. If you have carpeting in your classroom, one large aspect of passing this inspection relies on whether or not the carpeting used has earned either a Class I or a Class II flammability rating.

The National Fire Protection Association is responsible for creating these class ratings and tests how susceptible a carpet is to spreading a fire once it becomes compromised.

A Class I rating provides the highest level of protection and means that a fire will spread less quickly, compared to a Class II rating. While both a Class I and Class II rating are sufficient enough to pass the national standards, certain facilities, like schools, daycares, pre-schools and churches require the higher level of protection. A rug with a Class I rating will provide additional time to exit the building for those who need it if a fire were to occur.

When buying a carpet to be used in a facility with children, it is especially important to choose one that provides the highest level of protection possible and carries a Class I flammability rating. It would be a shame to have to throw out the rug you bought with the last of your yearly budget because it wasn’t up to fire code par.

There are two well-known manufacturers with years of industry experience that offer amazing classroom carpets that have earned the NFPA rating of Class I: Carpets for Kids® and Joy Carpets®. While choosing a rug from either of these brands will provide you with high-quality flooring options with safety in mind, it does not in any way mean they are unaffordable. Their value, in terms of safety and as an educational tool for teachers and educators, is unmatched when compared to other department stores and big box retailers.

For more information about these wonderful classroom carpets and to shop a wide selection at discount prices, please visit us at www.rtrkidsrugs.com.

A to Z Animals Rug - Product Spotlight

Adding the right amount of color and fun to your classroom without going overboard and creating unnecessary distractions for your students can be a fine line to walk. For classrooms, the best way to avoid divided attentions is to make sure that the classroom decorations can also be used as devices for learning. That’s why the A to Z Animals Rug by Carpets for Kids is the perfect way to incorporate a fun learning tool in the classroom!

The A to Z Animals Rug comes in two different shapes so that you can create the perfect learning environment for your students. Both the oval and rectangular classroom rugs come in two different sizes too!

• Small Oval — Rug: 6’9” x 9’5”
• Large Oval — Rug: 8’3” x 11’8”
• Small Rectangle — Rug: 7’6” x 12’ | Individual seating space: 17” x 23”
• Large Rectangle — Rug: 8’4” x 13’4” | Individual seating space: 19” x 26”

The individual seating spaces incorporated in the rectangular A to Z Animals Rug make it the perfect classroom decoration for students of any age! Whether you need to create a lesson area for preschool students or simply frame a reading area for a first grade classroom, this precious animal alphabet rug is ideal! Students can take pride in their assigned animal seat or even have fun getting a new alphabet letter to occupy each week.

To create an even more adaptable space, consider adding the oval-shaped A to Z Animals Rug to your classroom. The solid middle area of the rug lets you to be flexible with the space, allowing it to easily transition from play time, to show and tell, and to reading time with all of your students seated around the alphabet border.

Learning activities for toddlers and preschoolers will be perfectly suited to this rug. You can familiarize your younger students with the alphabet letters by asking them to line up behind the first letter of their name. Then try last names too and help them remember their initials with their animal combination!

Besides being fun and colorful learning tools for kids to use in the classroom, these A to Z Animal Rugs are also safe and extremely durable. When talking about safety, these rugs, along with all other Carpets for Kids brand rugs have a Class I Flammability Rating, which means it meets or exceeds all national fire code requirements. And for even more peace of mind, these rugs have earned the CRI Green Label Plus certification which is the most stringent testing standard in the industry for air quality!

When it comes to standing the test of time and general wear-and-tear, they feature the patented KIDply® backing technology that will give you benefits like wrinkle and crease prevention, increased durability, superior softness and flexibility, and better sound and thermal insulation. Plus, the 100% commercial grade nylon yarn resists fuzzing and piling so your kids can continue to enjoy the colorful designs on the A to Z Animals Rug for years to come!

The A to Z Animals Rug really is the ultimate addition to any classroom for young students. Read even more about the awesome benefits and qualities of this precious children’s rug at RTRKidsRugs.com! Let us know how you plan to set up your classroom using the rug and share your ideas about how to utilize this great learning tool for kids in your lessons!

Make Learning Fun with Educational Game Rugs

Remember back to when you were a kid in school. Did you love school or did you hate it? If you weren’t terribly fond of your daily lessons and tasks, it’s highly likely that you were bored, unchallenged and not having any fun.

It’s incredibly important to make learning as fun as possible, especially for the younger kids. Incorporating games and play into a teaching moment offers many benefits, including:

• Increases engagement in the activity or lesson
• Helps spark creativity and gets the imagination pumping
• Physical activity can help increase attention-span and retention with increased blood and oxygen flow
• Turns “dry” subject matters into a lively and entertaining activity

The effectiveness and value of non-traditional teaching tools like interactive classroom rugs is so well-known that designers and developers have created an entire line of play rugs for kids that are not only fun, but educational as well. While a little creativity and planning can take any patterned rug and turn it into a game, carpets that fall into the game rugs genre were specifically created for play learning across a variety of subject matters.

Check out our top 4 play rugs and classroom games ideas that are perfect for making learning fun and that kids are sure to love. Bonus: all of the fun they have will definitely help expend some of that extra energy!

Teach-A-Tot Rug

The Teach-A-Tot Rug is one of the most versatile teaching and play rugs we have because it has a lot going on. You can use each of the visual elements of this carpet either alone or in conjunction with one or several of the other elements. It has upper and lower case letters, geometric shapes, numbers (1 – 12), checkers, large-scale playing die, and even a center clock that can help kids practice telling time. One of our favorite ways to incorporate this educational rug into teaching is with a “Simon Says” style game where you have the kids stand around the perimeter of the rug and then the leader of the game, or Simon, shouts out commands like ‘put your right foot on the first letter of the word train’. You can also get creative and have kids use their arms to mimic the arms of a clock and display the correct time you call out. This rug provides endless opportunities for learning games- you just have to use your imagination!

STOPS USA Map Rug

The STOPS USA Map Rug takes learning geography from dry, dull and overwhelming to the ultimate in learning fun! Help your children learn more about the United States with this rug based on the award-winning geography trivia game STOPS. Students can play the game on the rug as they answer questions ranging from landmarks and state capitals to American history. Various location and directional sub-groupings are color-coded for an additional learning opportunity; kids can sharpen their knowledge and skills on identifying and locating New England or the Northeast, the Southwest, the South and more. Let your kids travel and explore our beautiful country with this USA map learning game for kids!

Teacher’s Pet Rug

The Teacher’s Pet Rug is another one of our rugs that has a lot going on, which means that the options for incorporating learning into play are numerous! This carpet features all of the classic games kids love, including tic-tac-toe, hopscotch, Chinese checkers, and bean bag toss. There is even a clock for teaching kids how to tell time that can be used to play a variety of time-telling games with. And the fun doesn’t stop there – the border of this rug is the home to a variety of animals with their species name written above their picture. Kids will love trying to decipher the clues you give them that will lead them to the correct animal. This rug can be used for just about any learning game you want to play with your kiddos; use your imagination, get creative, and have fun!

Alphabet Jungle Rug

The Alphabet Jungle Rug may in fact be the cutest rug to appear on our list but it’s easy to see why. Lions, tigers, elephants, koalas and more can be found hiding in the grass, grazing trees and swinging from branches. The border of this rug features the lower case alphabet, while the interior or center of the rug features the letters of the alphabet in upper case letters. There are numerous games and activities that can be done using the Alphabet Jungle rug that will help kids learn about different animals of the jungle, their distinctive characteristics, and the alphabet and spelling as well. One of our favorite games to play with this rug is to call out a letter or a word and then, one kiddo at a time, have them place their foot on the correct letter or the first letter of the word you called out. You can also call out a letter, have them hop, skip or jump to the correct letter, and then they have to name an animal that starts with that letter. As they become more comfortable with the alphabet, you can make the activity harder by having them jump from letter to letter to spell out words and/or their name. The best part about this rug is that the border alphabet is in order, while the interior alphabet is not; instruct your kids to carefully hop, skip or jump from letter to letter in the correct order. Too easy? Try it backwards!

We are true believers that learning should be fun, exciting and engaging. Offering one of the largest selections of classroom rugs, RTR Kids Rugs is committed to providing high-quality, durable rugs for teachers, schools, day cares, and churches. To explore all of our rug options and to discover all the ways you can save on our carpets, please visit us at www.rtrkidsrugs.com.

Catering To Different Learning Styles in the Classroom

Losing the attention of your students during classroom lessons may seem like an inevitable hurdle that leaves you with a “win some, lose some” mentality as a teacher. However, there are many proven methods of increasing student learning rates by catering to all of the different learning styles in the classroom.

Depending on a child’s dominant learning style, certain teaching techniques and learning strategies will be more successful in helping him or her grasp new material in the classroom. Many different psychological models have been suggested for the various learning styles adopted by children and adults alike, but the VAK model is one of the mostly widely recognized models. The VAK model and suggests three main categories of learners:

Visual

Visual learners are categorized by their ability to think in pictures and store mental images to retain information. Children who learn best visually tend to have trouble following verbal directions and can be easily distracted by noise. Some tips for catering to visual learners includes using visuals during lessons, organizing information using color codes, and showing visual patterns to teach grammar, vocab and punctuation.

TIP: Incorporate an educational classroom rug that illustrates the alphabet, numbers, and shapes with color images and pictures.

Auditory

As opposed to visual learners, auditory learners tend to think in words. Children who prefer auditory styles of learning tend to be talkative and social because verbal communication acts as their prime form of information exchange. These learners will understand concepts by talking about them or trying to explain them out loud. Techniques for engaging these students can be reading out loud to them often or encouraging the students to take turns reading sentences aloud. Also try to incorporate rhymes and word games when teaching language and grammar.

TIP: Set up a reading area in your classroom using a circular or oval classroom rug to encourage collaborative reading and learning.

Kinesthetic

Most children start out as kinesthetic learners but start to develop preferences towards visual or auditory learning once school curriculum becomes more rigorous. However, many students maintain a dominant preference for kinesthetic learning as they get older, and it can be difficult to cater to this style in many traditional classroom environments. Kinesthetic learners are often misdiagnosed with ADHD because they can’t sit still for long periods of time and struggle with reading and spelling (subjects that by nature tend to favor visual and auditory learners). Use the outdoors as a learning opportunity when possible and don’t limit study space to only desks or tables.

TIP: Let students practice addition and subtraction with this Drive & Play rug by using toy cars and asking them to show you answers to different equations.

Most experts agree that no child (or adult!) falls into only one category of learning styles. In fact, many people favor more than one learning style. Children’s learning styles can change and develop over the years, so it is important to provide a well-rounded classroom environment to ensure that all of your students can succeed.

About the Author: RTR Kids Rugs provides a wide variety of children's rugs that are the perfect addition to any school, church or daycare facility. Visit www.rtrkidsrugs.com to shop classroom rugs for kids or for more information.

Top 5 Classroom Rugs under $200

Now that the new school year is fully under way and you’ve purchased all of your classroom supplies and teaching necessities, you may find that you have a little extra leftover in your budget – emphasis on little. If you’re trying to decide how and on what you want to spend the remainder of your budget, you may be surprised to hear that you can get high-quality classroom rugs from industry-leading brand names like Carpets for Kids and Joy Carpets for not a lot of dough.

Although teachers and educators recognize the educational value of classroom carpets and appreciate the role they play in making learning fun and engaging, many just assume that they are out of their reach because of budget-busting price tags. But this is simply not the case!

If you know where to look, you can find classroom rugs on sale, and at RTR Kids Rugs, we have a wide selection of discount classroom rugs to choose from. But we know you’re busy so we picked out our top 5 favorite and most popular classroom rugs that are all priced under $200. Bonus: they all ship for free.

Color Blocks Value Seating Rug – 6’ x 9’ - $169.95

The Color Blocks Value Seating Rug is perfect for just about any game or activity you want to do with your kids from Duck Duck Goose, story time, and even snack time. This rectangle rug measures 6’ x 9’ and features a colorful block/grid pattern of green, red, light blue, orange, and navy blue. Teachers love this kid’s area rug for seated activities because each separate 14’ x 21’ square can be used as an individual seat, so there is no fighting or crying over stolen chairs. The Color Blocks rug is machine washable for easy cleaning and care.

Joy In a Box 24 Carpet Square Set – 16” x 16” - $119.95

Particularly great for story time, circle time, and activities that require your kids to sit, the Joy In a Box Carpet Square Set contains 24 individual 16” x 16” seating squares. These classroom carpet squares are also extremely versatile; kids love using their imagination to create and arrange the colored squares in different patterns and shapes on the floor. A new pattern and/or shape can be created every day! This carpet square set includes every color of the rainbow and comes with each of the following:

• 4 Yellow Carpet Squares
• 4 Red Carpet Squares
• 4 Blue Carpet Squares
• 4 Orange Carpet Squares
• 4 Purple Carpet Squares
• 4 Green Carpet Squares

Calming Circles Rug - 6’ x 9’ - $199.95

This rug isn’t called The Calming Circles Rug for nothing! The slightly muted blues, greens and neutral tones of this carpet are reflective of the colors found in nature, and the great outdoors have been shown to have a relaxing and stress-reducing effect on humans. The addition of this 6’ x 9’ area rug can help bring some order to a hectic classroom and may be best used for reading, writing, or any other lessons that require quiet focus. This particular rug is being offered at such a great value because it is a factory second rug, but please note that factory seconds are not warrantied and sold as-is.

Endurance Solid Color Rug – 6’ x 9’ - $134.95

The only solid-color rug to make our top five list, the Endurance Solid Color Rug in Royal Blue needs no designs or graphics to be a popular pick! Blue is the overwhelming favorite color of people of all ages and is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed. Blue is also the least gender-specific color, having equal appeal to both boys and girls. The royal blue color saturation of this 6’ x 9’ carpet is incredibly vibrant and works well in classrooms that are already busy with art work, posters, maps, and other fun decorations about.

Sunny Day Learn & Play Rug – 4’5” x 5’10” - $141.06

By the far the brightest and most lively rug to make an appearance on our top five list, the Sunny Day Learn & Play Rug’s name says it all. The numbers 1-10 and all 26 letters of the alphabet in every color of the rainbow surround a happy sun and is perfect for learning, games, and even better, teaching games that make learning fun and exciting! This rug will brighten up any classroom space and will become a fan-favorite amongst your kiddos. Measuring in slightly smaller than some of our other featured rugs at 4’5” x 5’10”, it will work well in smaller rooms where space is limited.

These cheap classroom rugs are only cheap in price, never in quality. Carpets for Kids and Joy Carpets are two manufacturers known and respected for their high-quality products and exceptional design features.

Check out what each of these brands has to offer:

Carpets for Kids

• KIDply® Backing – revolutionary patented technology that keeps rugs looking better for longer by preventing wrinkling and creasing, increases rug durability and sound and thermal insulation performance.
• Cut Pile Construction – cut pile carpets cannot unravel like loop pile rugs can, so you never have to worry about one of your kiddos pulling a loose yarn strand and irreparably damaging it.
• Anti-Microbial Treatment – a durable, “locked-in” chemistry that is incorporated into the carpet backing to minimize product deterioration and odors caused by microbial activity.
• Lifetime Anti-Static Fiber – helps prevent shocks, especially during the dry winter months.
• Meets All Fire Code Requirements – meets all national fire code requirements for NFPA253, Class I.

Joy Carpets

• Stainmaster® Carpet Technology – maximizes appearance retention, resiliency, and the ability to withstand traffic.
• 10-Year Dual-Technology Soil & Stain Protection – resists most food and beverage stains, ability to repel liquids, spills bead up and wipe off.
• SoftFlex™ Backing – an elite, soft-woven secondary backing that is remarkable in quality and performance.
• Class I Flammability Rating
• Colorfastness – resists color fading and discoloration.
• Bound & Serged Edging – produces maximum durability.

Factory Second Classroom Rugs: What They Are & Why You Should Consider Them

Parents, teachers, daycare providers, church directors - anyone searching for inexpensive rugs for kids shouldn’t rule out factory second classroom rugs. The fact is, you can save big on nearly perfect classroom carpets, available in dozens of colors, sizes, and shapes for every age, by choosing a factory second rug.

But first, what is a factory second classroom rug?
A factory second rug is a rug that was manufactured with a slight irregularity, one that is often so small it is difficult to see and will likely go unnoticed. Some examples of rug irregularities include:

• Small dye spots
• Barely visible white streaks where the dye did not completely saturate
• An imperfect seam or a flaw in the backing (underside of the rug)

Many times, flaws in factory seconds are so extremely small they cannot be located and yet the overall construction is still the highest quality. Imperfections rarely affect the quality of a durable, well-made rug. You may have to forego a good warranty that is available with a factory first-in-grade rug, but finding a factory second classroom rug with minimal flaws can save on costs and the kids will never notice or care.
Factory second educational rugs are perfect for schools, daycare centers, churches, and even kids’ rooms, and if you are on any type of budget, this alternative is the perfect solution to high-cost rugs where durability is a must. Because minor flaws during manufacturing randomly occur, you can find a factory second rug in any style and subject imaginable, including alphabet or numbers rugs, library rugs, map rugs, bilingual rugs, and even sign language rugs. There are amazing factory seconds to be found!
Look for factory second classroom rugs at RTR Kids Rugs. Industry-leading Carpets for Kids® brand is featured at prices you can’t beat. The World Explorer Rug and Discover American Rug are great for the whole family, and the older kids will love to relax in their rooms on the Calming Circles Rug. The Rhyme Time Rug is a blast for social activities where as many as thirty kids can be seated for fun and laughs. The youngest ones will be overjoyed with Toddler Alphabet Blocks Rug and can play for hours on the Cruisin Around the Town Rug. A few other top-selling factory second rugs include:

• ABC Caterpillar Rug
• A to Z Animals Rug
• Fun with Phonics Rug
• Colorful Places Seating Rug

Nearly all of the RTR Kids Rugs are made with KIDply® backing, or an alternative, for softness, longevity, and durability. All of these rugs are made to resist unraveling and endure whatever kids present. Durable commercial grade nylon face yarn, increased fiber density and double-stitched edges are made to last and kids and parents alike will appreciate the anti-static fiber and anti-microbial treatment. Each rug is fire code certified. You will receive the same high-quality and durability standards you are accustomed to in our high-grade rugs, without the added costs. Get a deal, skip the warranty, and enjoy the rug for years to come.
When you need rugs for kids, these factory second classroom rugs will not disappoint and there are dozens to select from in the sizes and prices you are looking for. Kids always love animals, shapes, and board games, and this low-cost option has no shortage of fun rugs in every size!

Classroom Rugs: Things to Consider Before Buying

You’ve gone over your budget and by nothing short of a miracle you have enough left to buy a classroom rug that you’ve been wanting since practically your first day teaching. Before you make a purchase though, there are several other factors besides color, size, shape and subject you need to consider.

Just like every other product available on the market, there are going to be top-of-the-line versions and lower-quality ones. Depending on what you are buying, you may be willing to sacrifice quality in order to save a few, bucks but when it comes to kids’ rugs, settling for a lesser-quality product can actually mean sacrificing the overall health and safety of your classroom.

What to Look for When Buying a Classroom Rug

Carpet making technology has come a long way and manufacturers now offer rugs that boast a slew of benefits from germ-fighting treatments to construction techniques that will help keep your rug in tip-top shape for years to come. Leading manufacturers Carpets for Kids® and Joy Carpets, Inc. produce classroom rugs with features that will help keep your little ones safe and healthy, and that makes everyone happy.

Fiber – Consider the type of fiber used to construct the rug. Fiber is a rug’s main ingredient and determines longevity and the ability to retain appearance over time. Certain fibers, such as high-grade nylon are going to be much more durable and able to withstand wear-and-tear better than carpets made of lower quality fibers. Nylon represents two-thirds of the pile fibers used in the United States because of its resilient nature that can withstand the weight and movement of furniture coupled with its ability to provide and hold bold, brilliant color.

Texture – There are several carpet construction techniques used today that result in various textures, each with their own specific advantages and dis-advantages. When it comes to classroom rugs, the most popular texture style is cut pile because of the overall durability it provides and its soil-hiding ability. Cut pile is easily recognizable by the visible ends of cut yarn tufts that collectively comprise the face of the carpet. Compared to loop pile construction, cut pile carpets won’t unravel so you’ll never have to worry about a loose yarn strand being pulled and ruining an entire length of the carpet.

Density – Refers to the amount of pile yarn in the carpet and the closeness of the tufts. In general, the denser the pile, the better the performance.

Antimicrobial Protection - Wherever children are present, you know the germs aren’t far behind! Look for a rug that has been coated with an antimicrobial chemical treatment that works to reduce the growth of common bacteria, fungi, yeast, mold and mildew. This treatment is incorporated into the backing composite of carpets to minimize product deterioration and odors caused by microbial activity.

Attached Cushion – Material, usually in the form of foam, rubber, urethane or PVC is adhered to the back side of a carpet to provide additional stability, thickness and padding helping to reduce the “ouch” if a fall occurs. This additional layer is sandwiched in between the backing layers of the carpet, so you don’t need to worry about your kids coming into contact with any potentially harmful or allergy-causing materials.

Secondary Backing – All carpets contain a primary backing, the fabric the yarn is attached to during manufacturing. For increased durability and resilience, be sure to buy a rug that also features a secondary backing. A secondary backing is an additional layer of woven fabric that is laminated to the back of the carpet to reinforce and increase dimensional stability. All Carpets for Kids® rugs feature their signature KIDply® backing system that works to:

• Prevent wrinkling and creasing
• Increase durability
• Provide unmatched softness and flexibility
• Increase sound and thermal insulation performance

Anti-Stain Protection – Choose a rug that has been protected with an anti-stain treatment. Anti-stain treatments coat the carpet fibers helping them to block out stains, and stay cleaner for longer. Joy Carpets uses STAINMASTER™ Premium Continuous Filament Nylon while Carpets for Kids® protect their rugs with their Carpet Guard®. These additional, protective treatments not only help to keep stains out, but help to keep color in and brighter than ever.

Meets or Exceeds CRI’s Green Label Plus Certification – Carpeting can negatively impact the environment if it emits a dangerous level of volatile organic compounds. Choosing a rug that meets or exceeds the CRI’s Green Label Plus certification standards ensures that it is safe for the environment and safe for us all.

Meets All Fire Code Requirements – Safety is of the utmost importance for any educator or child care provider, so it is absolutely essential that a carpet meets all national fire code requirements for NFPA-258, Class I. If it is not stated in the product description or the information is difficult to find, it is best to err on the side of caution and keep shopping. In general, if a classroom carpet fulfills fire code requirements, it will be clearly stated.

About the Author: RTR Kids Rugs provides a wide variety of children's rugs that are the perfect addition to any school, church or daycare facility. Visit www.rtrkidsrugs.com to shop classroom rugs for kids or for more information.