It looks more confusing than it is.
Let's say you're starting a new co-op with 5 or 6 families. You sort students into Form 1 (grades 1-3), Form 2 (grades 4-6), and Form 3 (grades 7-9). The first year, everyone does Rotation A, so your co-op roster might look like this:
Form 1 A Hannah age 6 |
Form 2 A Davina age 9 |
Form 3 A Nevaeh age 12 |
The following year, everyone is a year older. A couple of younger siblings have finally aged into Form 1, and some students have moved up to the next Form. Diego and Lucy have moved up to Form 4 (we intend to have a Form 4 for them by then!) In this second year, everyone does Rotation B. This year's roster might look like this:
Form 1 B Mateo age 6 |
Form 2 B Fiona age 9 |
Form 3 B Elsa age 12 |
The year after that, some students have moved up and a couple of new students have become old enough to start Form 1. Sarah and Lamar have moved up to Form 4. This year, everyone does Rotation C.
Because some students are joining in or moving up at different times, it's more necessary than ever that students keep some sort of timeline. Students in schools that work this way don't have a problem keeping their eras and times sorted if they keep a timeline or Book of Centuries.
Form 1 C Katie age 6 |
Form 2 C Kwon Ji-Yong age 9William age 9 Fiona age 10 Khumar age 10 Davina age 11 Joseph age 11 |
Form 3 C Ryan age 12Zoe age 12 Elsa age 13 Lawrence age 13 Nevaeh age 14 Samuel age 14 |
The co-op or school is now starting on its fourth year (can you believe it?) and the cycle starts over again, with everyone repeating Rotation A, but some students have moved up and others have joined, so no student is doing the same thing over again. Nevaeh and Samuel have moved up to Form 4.
Form 1 A Lamar age 6 |
Form 2 A Hannah age 9 |
Form 3 A Davina age 12 |