Hugging Tree Nature Preschool

08/24/2026

🌻Noticing Nature: Music in Nature

🎵Saturday, August 29
🎵10:00-11:00 am
🎵Lookout Park, Cedar Falls

🌻 All ages welcome, not just preschool age! 🌻
https://huggingtreepreschool.com/noticing-nature

08/18/2026

Hugging Tree is heading into its 6th school year!

We’re so grateful for the families who have supported us along the way.

We’ve put together an Amazon Wish List with a few items we could use for the upcoming school year.

Every contribution, big or small, helps make our outdoor learning experiences even more special!

Thank you for supporting Hugging Tree!

Link to Amazon Wish List:
https://a.co/01E6W98u

08/01/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to Noticing Nature this morning! It was fun to see familiar faces and meet new people as well!

Our next Noticing Nature event is Saturday, August 31 at Lookout Park in Cedar Falls. We will explore nature's music!

08/01/2026

07/31/2026

We wrapped up our Summer Adventures today. So many days of exploring, learning, playing, making new friends, and creating memories. Thank you for an amazing summer! 💚

07/31/2026

Wetland Friends
Day 5

Hugging Tree Beach arrived from the heavy morning rain! We actually became wetland friends today!

During our popsicle break we talked about the mink we saw yesterday. We learned:

⭐ Mink are nocturnal but do like to be active in the morning.

⭐ Mink are carnivores and will eat fish, rodents, amphibians, and birds.

⭐ Mink are fantastic swimmers and can climb trees!

⭐ When mink move on land the use a movement called loping.

⭐ Mink live in abandoned dens made by other animals. Mink may have several dens within their hunting territory.

Popsicle flavor was apple peach.

07/30/2026

The last day to vote for Hugging Tree is Sunday! You can vote once each day. Help Hugging Tree finish strong!

🎉 We made it to the top 5 in The Courier's The Best of the Best contest!

💚 We would love your vote to make it to the top 3!

🌳 You can vote for Hugging Tree EVERY DAY through Sunday, August 2!

Come on everyone, LET'S BRING THIS HOME!

Vote here 👇

https://thecourier.secondstreetapp.com/2026-Waterloo-Best-of-The-Best---Voting/gallery/550266294/

07/30/2026

Wetland Friends
Day 4

It was adventure day! We had hopes of seeing turtles and hearing a bullfrog. Although we did not hear a bullfrog, we saw quite a list of other wetland friends!

* Two mink
* Four groundhogs
* Canada Geese
* Mallards with ducklings
* Great Blue Heron,
* Three turtles
* The different types of grasshoppers
* A little frog
* Three monarch caterpillars
* Lots of dragonflies

Popsicle flavor of the day was plum. It was determined that plum is the favorite flavor!

07/29/2026

Wetland Friends
Day 3

Today we learned about the Western Painted Turtle.

🐢 Painted turtles are diurnal. (They're awake during the day!)

🐢 Painted turtles are omnivores and may eat aquatic plants, algae, snails, crayfish, worms, insects, fish, and carrion.

🐢 Painted turtles dig nests on land to lay their eggs.

🐢 Painted turtles sleep on the bottom of a pond and warm on logs during the day.

🐢 Painted turtles live in slow moving shallow water with aquatic vegetation, muddy bottoms, and basking sites.

Since today was painted turtle day, we had to paint turtles!

We also pretended to be female turtles and dug nests to lay eggs.