I joined an early Head Start classroom this week as a practicum student. I am getting a masters in early childhood special education, but my background is mostly individualized play based therapy with kids with autism. For the last few years, I have taken a break from the education field and have been working as a nanny.

Today was my third day, and I can't say enough good things about the teachers. They are kind and personable and lovely and they do such good work.

However, since I'm coming from an individual therapy and home environment, I'm struggling a little bit with the way they insist that the children stop what they are doing and clean up the toys they were just playing with during free play. The students in the class are mostly two and a half to three. "Choice time" has mostly consisted of limited teacher interaction, and near constant reminders to the children to put away the toys they were just playing with or to keep toys in specific, very small areas. The play area is somewhat crowded, and I have inadvertently spread out when I have been on the floor playing with the kids. Anyway, at other centers I visited, there is more of a free play and then everybody cleans up at the end. I feel like the constant reminder to clean up anything they have walked away from is disruptive to the natural flow of play. I'm also not adverse doing a little tidying as I go myself, with the children doing clean up at the end as well. I was wondering what you all do in your centers?