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Speaking at HIPPY USA's 25th anniversary dinner, Hillary Clinton said early childhood education has an important link to brain development.

Hillary Clinton said she's honored to be known as a "hippy" mom and soon to be a "hippy" grandma.

That's not a take on her lifestyle, but rather her longtime involvement with the organization Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, or HIPPY.

[READ: Access to Preschool Won't End the Literacy Problem in America, Experts Say]

Clinton gave the keynote address Monday night at the 25th anniversary dinner for the group, which promotes early childhood education and provides resources for parents to better educate and interact with their children at home before they begin kindergarten. Clinton helped establish the first HIPPY program in Arkansas three years before HIPPY USA was formally organized. The group was focused on early childhood development and learning "before it was popular," Clinton said. HIPPY now operates in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

"It is now wonderful to see so many people in so many walks of life talking about early childhood, talking about the importance of parents, particularly mothers, as a child's first teacher, and you're a big part of that," Clinton told the 300 attendees. "The reason that so many from elected officials to economists to education experts all over the country are finally catching on is because the evidence has become so compelling."

And Clinton's advocacy for early childhood education hasn't stopped since she helped bring HIPPY to the Natural State. Through the Clinton Foundation, the former first lady launched her "Too Small to Fail" campaign, which encourages parents to read, talk and sing to their children to help them learn more words at a younger age. Children who come from low-income families, Clinton said during her speech, learn 30 million fewer words on averagethan children from more affluent families.

[ALSO: Hillary Clinton Pushes Early Childhood Development]

One of the biggest obstacles Clinton said she faced in promoting HIPPY was convincing mothers that talking, reading and singing to their young children makes a difference.

"Now we know those kinds of interactions ... are literally building brains," Clinton said. "I'm excited because the more we learn about the importance of early childhood, the more we're going to be able to convince people across the political spectrum, wherever they live, that this is an investment worth making."

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Hillary Clinton Is a Proud 'Hippy' Mom