Involving Parents
HIPPY
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home-based education program that teaches parents to be their preschool children's first teacher and prepare their 3-5 year olds for school. So far, it has been very successful in First Nation communities in BC.
HIPPY parents are supported by easy-to-use activity packets that make learning and play fun, home visits by care professionals (home visitors) and group meetings.
- Families who apply to the program are asked to make a two-year commitment to participate 30 weeks per year, concurrently with the school year.
- Parents are provided with carefully developed materials, curriculum and books.
- HIPPY home visitors, who are parents in the program, are employed to work with a maximum of 15 families each. The home visitors call upon the family every second week, bringing a new set of materials - usually a storybook and a packet of instructional materials. The home visitor and parent spend about one hour reviewing the materials, using role-play. If the parent has low literacy skills, an older child or a friend can take part in the visit. All of the instructional materials are prepared at a grade three reading level.
- Parents spend 15 minutes each day doing activities with their child.
- Every other week, the HIPPY program offers a group meeting for all families in the program at community centres or schools with enrichment activities for parents.
- Home visitors are provided with weekly training sessions that better prepare them for their home-visitation work.
To learn more about HIPPY, visit their website by clicking here. 
