HIPPY: Home Instruction
for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
A Love of Learning Begins at Home
Why HIPPY
HIPPY offers parents support, training, and materials so they can engage in effective, developmental, and fun activities with their children in the comfort of their own homes. The HIPPY program works because it is based on a well-designed curriculum - parents learn by doing and children love the special time with their parents.
Our Mission
HIPPY’s mission is to help parents prepare their children for success in school and beyond. The model supports parents as their children’s first teacher by providing them the tools, skills, and confidence to teach their young children in the home.
Fill out the form below to learn more! A representative from HIPPY US will contact you with more information.
HIPPY Model
All HIPPY programs around the world follow the HIPPY model: a developmentally appropriate curriculum, with role play as the method of teaching, staffed by home visitors from the community, supervised by a professional coordinator and with home visits interspersed with group meetings as the delivery methods. The HIPPY model has four components:
• Curriculum
• Role Play
• Coordinators & Home Visits
• Home Visits & Group Meetings
Each of the four features of the HIPPY model was chosen and developed in order to allow participation from parents who might otherwise not get involved with their children’s education. Although HIPPY is for any parent who wants educational enrichment for his/her child, the HIPPY model was designed to remove barriers to participation due to lack of education, poverty, social isolation, and other barriers.
The curriculum is so easy to follow, it has the scripts - every week is a different activity connected to the book. For me it's more about being connected with your child. I believe in the program. I know the impact it has on the mother and the child. Becoming a HIPPY Mom first prepared me to become a HIPPY instructor, and it brings me so much joy that I am helping to change their kids and their family.
Stefania Cepeda
HIPPY Mother & Home Visitor
Curriculum
The HIPPY curriculum empowers parents to become their child’s first and most influential teacher. Designed with parents in mind, the curriculum offers step-by-step guidance on introducing new concepts, asking thoughtful questions, and tailoring activities to their child’s unique interests. Weekly support from home visitors boosts parents' confidence, ensuring they feel prepared to engage with their child.
Activities cover core learning areas including literacy, language, math, science, motor development, and social-emotional growth. The curriculum is available for children ages 2-5, with 30 weeks of activity packets and accompanying storybooks each year. Families can choose between print or digital formats, available in both English and Spanish.
The HIPPY curriculum exposes children to foundational skills and concepts through interactive experiences such as reading, writing, drawing, singing, games, puzzles, and hands-on projects - all aimed at building school readiness.
Role Play
Role playing is an essential part of the HIPPY approach, helping parents and home visitors build teaching skills in a supportive environment. Coordinators and home visitors practice role playing each week, alternating between parent and child roles. Home visitors then role play with parents during home visits or group meetings, giving parents the confidence to engage their child in activities independently.
This method encourages discussion, reflection, and empathy - helping parents understand both the purpose of activities and their child's developmental abilities. Role playing also provides an accessible learning experience for parents with limited reading skills.
Coordinators & Home Visitors
HIPPY home visitors play a vital role in delivering the program. As trusted members of the community - often former HIPPY parents themselves - they build relationships with families while providing weekly in-home support. Their knowledge of the community's language, culture, and needs creates a foundation of trust and equity.
Each program is led by a professional coordinator who oversees recruiting families, hiring and training home visitors, and organizing group meetings. Weekly meetings between coordinators and home visitors reinforce best practices, encourage collaboration, and provide ongoing training.
Home Visits & Group Meetings
The cornerstone of the HIPPY model is the home visit, where home visitors and parents build a partnership centered on the child’s learning. During each visit, parents receive materials and guidance to engage their child in developmentally appropriate activities. Home visitors help parents understand key early childhood concepts, strengthening their ability to support their child’s education and advocate for their needs.
Monthly group meetings complement home visits by bringing parents together to share experiences, learn from one another, and build a sense of community. These meetings reduce isolation, foster peer learning, and strengthen the overall HIPPY experience.
More about HIPPY
HIPPY is designed to be implemented by different organizational settings: Schools, Childcare Centers, Head Start, Commumity Centers, and more. "HIPPY is a program that partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school. You will receive a home visitor who will come to your home for 30 weeks and spend an hour every week working with the parents. That's one of HIPPY's most unique parts - strengthening that parent child bond in a fun way and an educational way." - Rachele Ventrone, HIPPY Supervisor.
"There have been studies worldwide primarily focusing on childrens school readiness. We also have studies showing parents growth and development, so parents more engaged in schools, parents feeling more confident about themsleves. HIPPY programs can fit into many different contexts that are very diverse." - Miriam Westheimer, Ed.D. Chief Program Officer, HIPPY International.
"The method of instruction, how parents really absorb that curriculum, is role play. They are going to live out that curriculum as if they are doing it with their child. To me, the beauty about the process is it's the parent who is then going to take these newly learned skills and they are going to complete those activities with their own child. Reinforcing that they are the first educator for their child." - Nikki Martum-Bynum, National Program Director, Hippy US.
Besides supporting HIPPY with the curriculum and doing role play, part of the program is to also support parents with workshops. "Our group meetings are every month for parents to come in to break that social isolation, and for them to have a parent educational workshop on topics like positive discipline, budgeting, or nutrition. The fact that home visitors are often former parents themselves is just a part of the model that makes HIPPY so special and unique."
My son is comfortable with learning, comfortable with starting preschool, it's just a little headstart for him. Everyone learns better the more comfortable they are. Doing the HIPPY program for 2 or 3 years has really helped me connect with my son. Having a structure and a routine actually brought us closer.
Son Bui
HIPPY Father and Home Visitor
Learn More
Want to learn more about HIPPY? Visit our website at www.hippyus.org. If you are interested in establishing a new site in your community, please complete our New Site Interest Form and we will reach out to you.