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Lasse Leponiemi

Chairman, The HundrED Foundation
first.last@hundred.org

Growing Together: Early Learning at Home

place India

Turning everyday family moments into joyful learning

Growing Together is a home-based early learning approach developed through my experience supporting my younger sister from birth. It turns everyday activities, conversations, stories, play, and family interaction into opportunities for learning. The approach aims to make early education simple, accessible, joyful, and possible for families without expensive resources.

Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Updated September 2026

2026

Established

1

Countries
All students
Target group
I hope to see an education system where children learn not only from books, but also from real life, everyday experiences, play, family interaction, and observation. I want children to be encouraged to understand small things around them by seeing, touching, doing, asking questions, and experiencing them directly. My inspiration comes from my experience with my younger sister, Anshu Kumari. Since her childhood, I have supported her in many everyday activities and learning experiences. We learned through drawing, cycling, playing Ludo, conversations, reading, and simple activities at home. I helped her with her studies and encouraged her to learn independently and develop confidence. I believe that care and education can work together. Children should feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, explore, and learn at their own pace. Everyday activities such as eating, dressing, playing, talking, reading, and observing the world can become opportunities for learning. Through this innovation, I hope to make early learning more practical, joyful, personal, and accessible. I especially want families with limited financial resources to understand that meaningful learning can begin at home without expensive equipment or complicated methods. My vision is that every child gets the opportunity to learn from real experiences and that parents, siblings, and caregivers become active partners in a child's early learning journey.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

I created this innovation from my personal experience of supporting my younger sister, Anshu Kumari, from the time she was born. I saw that early learning does not always need expensive materials, technology, or a formal classroom. Children can learn through everyday conversations, stories, play, observation, questions, family activities, and encouragement.

My aim is to show that families can create meaningful learning opportunities at home using simple things they already have. I wanted to make learning more joyful, natural, and accessible, especially for families who may have limited financial resources.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

In practice, the approach turns ordinary family moments into learning opportunities. With my younger sister Anshu, I have used conversation, storytelling, questions, play, observation, simple activities, and encouragement as part of her everyday learning.

Instead of separating learning completely from daily life, I try to connect learning with things a child can see, hear, touch, discuss, and experience. Activities can include talking about objects around the home, asking questions, telling stories, learning through play, counting everyday objects, drawing, and encouraging the child to express ideas.

The approach is flexible and can be adapted to a child's age, interests, and family environment. It is designed to require little or no expensive equipment.

How has it been spreading?

At present, the innovation has primarily been developed through my experience with my younger sister, Anshu Kumari. I am now documenting the approach so that the ideas can be understood and potentially adapted by other families.

My long-term goal is to share the approach with parents, caregivers, and educators who want to create simple early-learning opportunities at home, particularly in families where access to expensive educational resources may be limited.

How have you modified or added to your innovation?

As I gained experience supporting Anshu, I learned that learning activities need to be flexible rather than identical every day. I adapted activities according to her age, interests, attention, and responses.

I gradually focused more on learning through everyday interaction rather than relying only on formal teaching. I also added more opportunities for conversation, questions, storytelling, play, observation, and creative activities. The approach continues to develop based on what works naturally in the child's daily environment.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Start with the child and the everyday environment around them. No expensive equipment is required.

1. Spend regular time talking and listening to the child.
2. Use stories, songs, play, drawing, and simple household objects as learning opportunities.
3. Ask open questions and encourage the child to explain what they think.
4. Connect counting, language, observation, and problem-solving with everyday activities.
5. Follow the child's interests and adjust activities according to their age and responses.
6. Keep learning enjoyable rather than treating every activity like a formal lesson.
7. Observe the child's participation and learning over time, and record genuine examples of progress.

The approach can be adapted to different homes, cultures, languages, and available resources.

Implementation steps

Start with Everyday Learning
Spend regular time with the child and observe their interests. Use simple everyday activities, conversations, objects, and experiences around the home as opportunities for learning. Encourage the child to ask questions, explore, and share what they think.
Start with Everyday Learning
Spend regular time with the child and observe their interests. Use simple everyday activities, conversations, objects, and experiences around the home as opportunities for learning. Encourage the child to ask questions, explore, and share what they think.
Start with Everyday Learning
Spend regular time with the child and observe their interests. Use simple everyday activities, conversations, objects, and experiences around the home as opportunities for learning. Encourage the child to ask questions, explore, and share what they think.