Alphabet float mats

[5 Little Monkeys]

I get what you're saying Lee-Bee. I have usually always had a young crew and only once have I had vomit on them and once a pee accident. Other than that, it's my carpet that takes the beating!! lol

My fiance is a janitor at an elementary school and he says many of the younger classrooms have these mats too and they just mop them up every day. He has mentioned that mine have been kept much cleaner though lol....but I also obviously don't have the traffic a classroom does. This summer I will likely replace a few of them. It's still cheaper than getting my carpet cleaned though.

[Jenny]

I have used these matts in my classroom when I was teaching and yes they get dirty but they are easy to mop and vacuum over and much better then my floors getting destroyed,and nice to sit on when playing, for me as well!
I have them in my laundry room as well which is cement and they are awesome, much better then cold concrete!
I'm my playroom I have ones that look like wood in my dramatic play section, and multi-coloured ones in the free play, blocks, little people area.
I like the suggestions for gluing and attaching them but I don't want to risk it not working especially as they were a bit more expensive. I called Canadian Tire and they said they are fine to return, even if I've taken them from the package. I was honest and said they are not what I thought they were, plus they bubble up and don't lay flat and they said I could return them.
I just saw the same ones at superstore for $15 so I may get those and pull them out for special indoor play.

[momofnerds]

for me, the little knicks and the dirtyness (yellow gets dirty) would drive me insane. Also the tripping factor, those mats would never ever be here.

[MonkeyPrincess]

I have mixed opinions about them. I have them in half my basement. The kids love them- they play alphabet hopscotch on them, they are great for teaching the letters and numbers and colours too. Although i have laminate flooring with an extra underpad, i still find it colder in the basement and i like that they are walking around on the foam pads and not on the laminate. It also protects the laminate floor

On the flipside, They are a pain to clean in my opinion. I hate having to take them all apart to clean. My younger ones always take the letters out, and the older ones trip on them. I hate when liquids and crumbs get stuck in the cracks- grrr. i am afraid of gluing them down because i wouldn't want the laminate finish to come off.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I have the larger, solid ones on my floor. They really aren't hard to clean and honestly, don't get that dirty. I don't allow food or drink in the playroom though so that probably helps. If we do have a picnic snack in the playroom we eat on a blanket.

The kids don't trip on them (but they are the solid ones) and to vacuum under them it's really easy as it lifts up all in piece pretty much. I haven't done this but you could use duct tape on the bottom to tape the pieces together. This would be okay until you need to take them apart though. I vacuum them and wash them down with wet wipes or the swiffer wet jet or just a mop. They do have a little pattern to them so if you were really anal about cleaning you could use a toothbrush too but really, mine aren't that dirty and these ones are about 2.5 years old.

[MonkeyPrincess]

Oh yes, I also have the larger ones and they are easier to clean for sure. I like them better but the alphabet ones are more fun for the kids

[5 Little Monkeys]

Yes, the alphabet ones would be funner. Even though my alphabet ones are on the wall we still use them to sing the alphabet song and each child knows where the letter is that their name begins with. (however, it was pretty easy when all 4 had the same letter lol) I also ask the older ones where such and such letter is and they run to find it. I wipe them down periodically but because they are on the wall, they don't get dirty.

I would love to have a big child's themed circle rug but I find them expensive. Target sells little floor carpets for the different holidays and I've been buying them. The kids love sitting on them when I have them on the floor in front of the kitchen sinks so I think I may just pick up a few and use those for circle times!