[Sit in a comfortable position holding an infant in your arms or on your lap, facing you.

Smile and begin talking with the infant. Example: “Good morning, Hannah. I am happy to see you!” Make a happy face toward the infant and watch for his/her response. The young infant may show interest in interacting by vocalizing, gazing at you, or reaching toward you. Acknowledge the infant’s reactions, including any vocalizations or gestures. Examples: “You are watching me, Samuel. You are smiling! I am smiling back at you!” “I hear you saying ‘ba-ba-ba.’ You are talking to me, Caris! ‘Ba-ba-ba.’”]

[Continue to encourage responsive interactions with the infant using strategies, such as the following:

• Encourage the infant to enter into an exchange of sounds with you. Initiate the sounds by using a phrase that includes word repetition or a nonsense phrase of early babble sounds. Examples: “Hello baby, baby!” “Ba-ba, ma-ma. Ba-ba, ma-ma.” The infant may respond by imitating your sounds or making a new sound. Acknowledge the infant’s reactions and repeat any vocalizations.
• Describe the infant’s actions. Example: “Look at you kick your legs! Hannah is kicking, kicking! Hannah has strong legs!”
• Introduce and talk about a here-and-now topic the infant is likely to find interesting, such as the following:
  • Characteristics of the infant. Examples: “I see your pretty brown eyes. And here is your nose.” “Look at these little toes! Tap, tap, tap—I’m tapping your toes!”
  • What other infants are currently doing in the room. Example: “Cayden is rolling a ball on the floor. Look at Cayden’s red ball!”
  • Current weather. Example: “It is raining today. Look at the rain! The rain is making a puddle on our sidewalk. Did you get wet in the rain?”
• Describe your movements and the infant’s experiences. Examples: “I am turning you so you can see the other babies in our classroom. You are listening to the sounds other children are making.” “I am going to stand up now. Here we go. Up, up, up!”
• Watch the infant’s reactions throughout the activity. Encourage all vocalizations, smiles, and other facial expressions by making similar faces and sounds.]

[Offer a brief description of what happened during the activity. Example: “Samuel, we had a good time talking together! You made some sounds, and I tried to make your sounds. You smiled and I smiled! We looked at the rain outside. Thank you for sharing time with me.”]