Home Start
Provide opportunities for children and families to have meaningful learning experiences in the home.
Guidance and support for families help them use everyday household objects and activities to develop children’s knowledge, cognitive, and social emotional skills; strengthening the relationship between school and home and increasing engagement and school readiness.
Children take in and learn a tremendous amount of information in the first several years of their life. Before entering school or a formal classroom setting – the best and most influential education begins at home and sets the stage for future learning and success. When children have the opportunity to engage in meaningful learning interactions and experiences in the home, they’re more successful, however many parents and caregivers don’t know where to start. While it may seem daunting, making the home the center of learning for children and families doesn’t need to be difficult, time-consuming, or stressful – in fact, it can happen quite naturally.
Home Start brings fun family learning into the home, covering physical, cognitive, social emotional, and language areas using different rooms of the house as literal rooms for learning activities and moments. With a focus on accessibility and familiarity, Home Start uses everyday objects and routines – such as play time, bath time, cooking time, and outdoor time, to name a few – to help families use lots of language throughout the day and develop each child’s wealth of experiences
Available in English and Spanish, Home Start is appropriate for ages 2-5 years and can be used by anyone looking to increase family learning experiences and language exposure, and bridge the gap between school and home to support school readiness and a lifelong love for learning.
Why Home Start?
Available in English and Spanish
to support all children and families.
More impactful and intentional family activities
to support how young children learn best.
Proven, easy guidance for families
to increase learning moments and experiences in the home around key objectives in early childhood development.
A strengthened relationship between school and home
extends learning outside of the classroom walls and into the community.
Increased engagement between children families and teachers
improves school readiness and fosters a lifelong love for learning.
Impacts and Outcomes
Limited academic background knowledge and language exposure is a contributing factor to the ongoing achievement gap in school. When children have opportunities to engage in meaningful learning experiences at home they’re more successful in school, however many parents and caregivers don’t know where to start.
Home Start helps families use everyday objects and routines in the home and activities in the neighborhood to develop children’s language acquisition and cognitive skills, bridging the gap between home and school by making learning fun, accessible, and familiar
Who can benefit from using Home Start?
Parents
Looking to provide simple but meaningful learning experiences in the home.
Family Members
Who help care for young children in the home and want to support learning.
Home Visitors
Looking to support parents through a coordinated system of services for children and families.
Teachers
Looking for ways to extend learning into the home and increase language exposure.
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In four years, an average child in a professional family would accumulate experience with almost 45 million words, and average child in a working class family 26 million words, and an average child in a welfare family 13 million words.
—Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, The 30 Million Word Gap
Through Home Start, The Discovery Source aims to provide families with tools to develop and strengthen early learning in the home.
Increased and ongoing exposure to learning opportunities and experiences in the home increases social emotional and cognitive skills in young children. Families who create authentic learning moments in the home through talking, listening, guided activities, and play result in more “ready children,” better prepared for school and life. Home Start helps families use familiar objects, routines, and activities in the home to develop each child’s experiences while increasing language exposure, ultimately strengthening learning connections for more successful learners. Learn more about The Discovery Source and Home Start by clicking below.