[glaiza]

I don’t work in a child care setting yet but with my toddler one way that I notice a way to serve and return is when she looks at books. She brings it to me and I ask if she wants to read the book. Then we sit together and then when I start to read I point to characters or objects in the book and she points to them or vice versa.

[Sascha]

Pay attention to what a child is showing interest in, and encourage it- if they’re showing interest in a puzzle, see if they can work through it themselves or engage in stimulating conversation with them identifying things like shapes, textures, or concepts represented by the puzzle, toy/book, or any item they may be showing interest in.

[Nicole]

ELP’s can create a serve and return environment in their classrooms by embracing shared attention opportunities with each child. When focusing on an object or activity together you can add information for the child in a variety of ways, like naming a thing, an action, a feeling, or a person.

[Emma]

Early learning providers can create a serve and return environment in there classrooms that support serve and return. Such as doing puzzles together, passing ball together and describing items for a child and having them guess which one it is. Also showing interest in activities that the child enjoys as well.

[Haerin]

I like demonstrating new works to the child. I’ll show how to do the work and let the child try it. When the child finishes the first step, I’ll demonstrate how to do the next step.

[Shalom]

In the classroom I’m in right now, we use serve and return all the time, two year olds are just starting to form two word sentences or using a single word or sound to communicate. When a child hands me a book, I pay special attention to the things they point out such as “meow” when they see a picture of a cat. Their serve is “meow”, and I respond with something like “Yes, very good! That is a cat, a cat says meow!” When a child hands me a toy I ask them what it is, wait for the pause and then tell them the word. They usually respond by copying the word themselves, which we repeat back and forth and talk about more.

[Stella Villa]

I think early learning providers can create serve and return environments in their class rooms by providing ample activities and time to do certain things. Having things like toys or books should give children a lot to serve to you, which in turn should allow you to return their serve.

[Kenan]

paying attentions to the kids and their interests. You also have to build a focus to what these kids are interested in and encourage them to dig deeper in their interests.

[Katie R.]

I think allowing for multiple activities during free time is a great time to harness serve and return. It encourages extra focus of early learning providers to follow the direction of the child and their engagement with different activities. I think this technique is much more difficult when there is one teacher with an entire class, but during free time, the teacher can jump around to each child and engage with them at whatever station they are at.

[Zoe]

How do you think early learning providers can create a “serve and return” environment in their classrooms?

I think having the ABC’s and numbers on the wall and talking about them as well at photos of people doing stuff in your classroom. I also think participating in cleaning or playing as well as talking and interacting with other adults in a well manner will help them better understand the world around them.

[Anna]

Reading a book together that the child is interested in, naming the things they point to and discussing the pictures/story, is an example of “serve and return.”

[Somer]

I think we can provide a serve and return environment by directly interacting with children during any type of activity. If they are playing with toys, you can ask them questions, or answer questions they have. If they are looking at a book, you can read to them and show them things on the page. Let them make observations.

[Leslie]

You can acknowledge what the child is noticing. This could be related to an activity in the classroom or something that is happening outside. You can return this by telling them they did a good job noticing that or something along the lines of this.

[Alison]

I can create a serve and return environment by continually asking the children what they need or would like help with, as children do not always ask when they require help.

[Hailee]

if you see a child interested in a toy, bring it closer and play with the child. name the toy and show them how to play with it.