Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) at UMBC is a chapter of HIPPY US – a nationwide program dedicated to supporting caregivers of young children. HIPPY believes that a love of learning begins at home, and that a parent is a child’s first and most important teacher.
With this in mind, HIPPY uses a 30-week home-visiting model to support participants. Each week, a Parent Educator (home visitor) meets with a caregiver in the program to go role play the curriculum for the week. Curriculum consists of 5 activities that cover the following child development and learning domains: fine motor, gross motor, literacy, math, and science. By role playing these activities with their Parent Educators, parents are then equipped to lead their children through the activities throughout the week.
In addition to weekly meetings, HIPPY also hosts a number of Family Engagement Sessions throughout the program year. Each Family Engagement Session focuses on an area of interest to the families, such as financial literacy, community resources, mindful movement, exploring the city, and more!
Communities We Serve
We currently serve families in Cherry Hill and Curtis Bay who have children at home between the ages of 2 and 4 years old.
Community Partners
- Arundel Elementary School
- Baltimore City Public Schools
- Baltimore Read Aloud
- B’more for Healthy Babies Baltimore
- Catholic Charities
- Cherry Hill Strong
- City of Refuge Baltimore
- Curtis Bay Elementary School
Meet our Parent Educators
Coming Soon!
For more information, please email HIPPY@umbc.edu