Gan party norms | Imamother

amother

Tue, May 31 2022, 7:08 am

I just want to thank everyone here for this very helpful thread! The party was yesterday and was beautiful and fun. I didn't bring the two small mats that I bought on Sunday to the party of course, and it felt fine--I was happy that I had a plan.

Meanwhile I've started looking to see if I can find something better, because with no hard deadline, I should be able to bring just the right thing... And two small mats doesn't seem to be quite it.

So new question. Gan party asides. And social norms aside. Let's say I want to find a great preschool mat. I found a rug on Amazon (actual rug). It looks like it has pretty colors and appealing shapes that would inspire a car-loving little boy to flop right down and play. And it is big enough for multiple kids at once. But it is an actual RUG and now I've gotten all convinced that the foam plastic kind is better! Help.

As far as foam plastic mats, I know (saw in store in my initial hunt on Sunday) that Shilav sells one for 300 but the colors are gray and the shapes uninspiring.

What to do... Should I just do the Amazon one that appealed to me at first glance?

I have Melissa and Doug rugs that are actual rugs and they are pretty easy to shake out. Once or twice something really dirty happened--throw up or something? And it washed out easily. Like, they're industrial rugs, not very fluffy and I am happy to have them in my house. I easily fold them up and put them away when not in use. But I guess not as "cleanable" as plastic.

More advice, please, oh wise women?

I feel like I'll find the right thing, and then depending on how much it cost and how much time I have, I'll notify other parents so they can chip in if they want.

amother

Tue, May 31 2022, 7:12 am

amother [ Canary ] wrote:

Just btw there are certain privacy rules in any gan safa or chinuch meyuchad. They have to get permission to give out names and numbers. It could be some parents refused access so they didn't give out a list.

OOHHHH that might be it! Maybe it's just as a standard rule that they don't give it.

I don't think they ever asked me if they could give out my number, so my guess is they never asked anyone but maybe just don't even try as a policy.

amother

Tue, May 31 2022, 7:17 am

WitchKitty wrote:

Oh!
But the 'real rugs' look so much harder to clean, can you just sponge them clean like the foam ones?
I don't think I've seen many of the 'real' ones here. I'm sure the ganenet meant the foam (maybe ask your kid, he might understand the difference and be able to tell you if that's what the other gan had). Anyway it's a very nice gift.

Is the party early morning or do you send your kid in then come later? If it's the second you can send him to school with the gift and a nice note so you won't have to walk in with it later.

Thanks! I saw your message before but didn't have time to answer.

We probably could have brought the present before (or after) but everyone's attention was really on the party (getting ready--the party was set to start at 8:45--and then kids parting from their mothers and teachers calming them all down) and I didn't want to interfere or distract. We'll bring it another day.

And meanwhile I decided to see if I could find something better...

Yes the real ones are not AS cleanable I guess...

I actually don't know if my kid knows the word "rug" or "foam" to be able to answer without seeing actual examples in front of him. I might try to ask but at this point I'm pretty convinced what they have is foam.

amother

Tue, May 31 2022, 7:20 am

myname1 wrote:

I didn't see the size on that link. If they're really small, 2 don't seem so great for a classroom. I think a nice large one would be much nicer for the kids/teacher to use. If you can return the ones you got and get 1 nice big one fairly easily, I think that would be best. And I'm sure the other parents would very much appreciate if you would collect and include them. IME the hardest part is figuring out what to give. So if you've done that already, seems like collecting would be best. If I were you, I'd ask the parents at the party if they'd like to contribute, or ask the teacher for a list of numbers. Good luck!

Thank you! This message was really helpful to me. I feel like I'm reaching a conclusion on what I want to do which is get one really nice big rug.

I can definitely return the little rugs I have, the question will be what I can find that is better (in a semi-timely manner).

I didn't chat with other parents at the party about this because well a) my Hebrew isn't that great but also b) until/unless I have an actual gift that I'm confident is good, I don't want to make a commitment to THEM!

myname1

Tue, May 31 2022, 10:39 am

Glad the party was nice and you're not so pressured now. And sounds like you have a great idea! I actually have one that's really nice that is foam, but it's from a Jewish store in the US I think. I got it as a gift. It says on it מצוה City and has things in Hebrew/Yiddish and English. Like a shul and schools and stuff. I looked at the tag for the company and it says MITZVAH FAMILY. That's all I know about it, but you can see if bookstores like Shanky's have something like that.

amother

Tue, May 31 2022, 10:52 pm

MyName1 I think I see that one online. But how big is it? The one I see online is cute and looks fun, but seems like it's made for one kid at a time. Called Mitzvah Kinder Shtetl Playmat and it's 34 inches by 34 inches--about 86 cm?

I think I am going to start another thread to get advice on choosing between my options here. I feel stuck.

myname1

Wed, Jun 01 2022, 2:03 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I see that one online. Mine is different. It's that height but about double the width.
I found this, which is similar to mine and very nice: https://doubleplaytoys.com/mitzvah-rug/
But that one looks like it might be a real carpet, not foam. I'm not sure though, as it's not mine exactly.