Originally Posted by LittleScholars:
This is helpful! Right now I have all of these centers, but no system to rotate them through. If a kiddo prefers one center and wants to stay do you still require that they clean up and rotate? I'm so conflicted because we also worked SO hard on the ability to sustain play for longer periods, and I don't know if I'm undoing the work or simply encouraging new experiences by rotating them. Does that make sense? Or maybe there is a time for both? Our days seem to go SO fast, but I might not be using time effectively.
yea, i get that.
if you let them stay in the center its most likely a popular center and then you've started a fire and then everyone is going to say "well you let charlie stay in his center" and nobody will move or they will come up to you and bicker about wanting to go into blocks or whatever the popular center is not to mention charlie just threw off your numbers because you need to move 3 kids into that center but now theres gonna be four cuz he's still there.
id either do the timer, make them all clean up and rotate my way like i said or
do the timer make them clean up and sit on the wall and they can pick a center based on who is quietest first and sitting stillest or whatever, encouraging new centers but not enforcing because little Johnny was quieter and got to pick first sorry little suzy maybe next rotation the center won't be full OR
do the regular rotation no choosing for them all the way through and then let them choose in a last 15-20 minute increment after you've already gone through all the centers.