This paper describes a project that provided television set-top Internet access devices to Latino families as part of a project to link the school and home in an inquiry-based science curriculum. The early phases of adoption of the Internet and the "NetTV" devices by families are described, with special attention to the different ways that families make educational use of the Internet. Internet use data was collected from 13 families of middle school students in Detroit (Michigan). Log files from the "boxes," student interviews, field notes, and parent comments from group meetings provided data that show the emerging patterns of use and preferences for online activity. Children (both students and their siblings) and, to a lesser extent, fathers, were the primary users. Mothers were concerned that their children were using the boxes properly for school, but appear not to have used the boxes much themselves. Education was not the primary application for the boxes, but students did access a wide range of educational resources, including the online science curriculum materials. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 24 references.) (SLD)