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About

Welcome to Acorn Grove

The SquirrelBus is a world of stories, songs, and familiar friends created for children and the grown-ups who share the ride. Here, kindness leads the way, curiosity is always welcome, and every adventure leaves room for laughter, belonging, and hope.

Why we're here

A Place Where Every Rider Belongs

At Acorn Grove, children do not have to be the loudest, fastest, or bravest to matter. Every friend brings something different aboard, and the best adventures happen when everyone has a seat.

The SquirrelBus invites children to laugh, wonder, ask questions, help one another, and discover what can happen when friends travel together.

The SquirrelBus, a friendly smiling squirrel-shaped school bus with a large fluffy tail, parked at Acorn Grove in golden-hour light while Mr. Whiskers drives and the students board.

The heart of Acorn Grove

What Makes This World Feel Like Home

Kindness Leads the Way

Friends listen, help, and make room for one another.

Curiosity Opens Doors

Questions and discoveries can turn an ordinary day into an adventure.

Laughter Brings Us Together

The crew shares playful moments and kind humor without making anyone else the joke.

Hope Brings Us Home

Even when the road gets bumpy, every adventure returns to a reassuring place.

Around Acorn Grove

A Familiar Place With More to Discover

The SquirrelBus travels through Acorn Grove, carrying friends toward school, new discoveries, and whatever adventure is waiting around the next bend. Some places will become familiar with every ride, while others are still waiting to be explored.

What a ride feels like

Familiar Friends, Gentle Surprises, and Plenty of Heart

A SquirrelBus adventure welcomes children back to friends they know, opens the door to something new, and finds its way to a hopeful place. Along the way, there is room to wonder, laugh, listen, help, and grow together.

Familiar Faces

Children can return to friends they know, enjoy, and look forward to seeing again.

Something to Discover

Every ride brings a new question, joyful surprise, or small challenge to explore.

Together Again

The crew listens, helps one another, and finds its way forward together.

The road ahead

More Adventures Are Waiting

The SquirrelBus world will continue to grow through new stories, songs, activities, and ways for families to ride along. Each new stop will be shared when it is ready.

Meet the Creators

Two Lifelong Friends and One Very Important Word

Dave Scott and Julie Runyan Hardy have been friends for more than 40 years. Whenever one of their conversations was about to take an unexpected turn, one of them would simply say, “Squirrel.” That familiar signal eventually became the SquirrelBus, a welcoming world shaped by friendship, teaching, American Sign Language (ASL), music, storytelling, curiosity, and wonderfully unexpected ideas.

Come Meet the Crew

Every friend aboard the SquirrelBus has a personality worth knowing. Meet the calm grown-ups, caring listeners, curious thinkers, creative spirits, and cheerful jokesters who make Acorn Grove feel like home.