This article is an examination of the author's experiences facilitating service-learning for the first time in a learning community of an advanced graduate course. The purpose of this paper is to share insights about this process, so that faculty who are considering the implementation of a service-learning pedagogy in similar courses might understand the challenges and ultimately experience success in their endeavors. Using a self-reflective case study approach, this paper provides a general description of the course goals and activities as well as a detailed description of how service-learning was implemented during the course from a mentoring perspective. The course topic--ecological approaches to working with children and families--was taught through the early childhood program in a College of Education. Students and professor worked collaboratively over the course of ten weeks to establish a relationship with the community partner (a private preschool), assess their needs (through a questionnaire) and produce a research-informed pamphlet related to transitioning from the preschool setting to a kindergarten. This research explores both the challenges and the accomplishments of the course work in relation to the service-learning component of the course, and posits a theoretical model for mentoring that arose from the experience of facilitating service-learning. (Contains 1 table.)