[Anna]

Although we don’t currently serve children under 2 1/2, we are a play-based program and we typically keep a wide variety of possible toys and activities available for kids to choose from, allow lots of free play time, and try to spend plenty of time getting onto kids’ level and engaging with them as they play. This can provide a lot of serve and return opportunities, as it lets the kids roam through possible activities and key into the ones that interest them, so they can create ‘serves’. Then the teachers who are there watching and engaging will see it and ‘return’. We do this even with older kids in various ways, verbally taking notice of what they’re doing, being excited for them and praising their work, asking questions about it, having conversations about the topic with them, offering help when they struggle and/or giving it when they ask for it, playing along with them, etc.