2,000 Pumpkins Patch Fun Together for Matteson Dist. 162 Students

Matteson School District 162 brought the field trips to the students, featuring their own pumpkin patches, enhanced by skill building, learning activities and games.

“Bringing the world to our children is our calling as educators,” said Dr. Blondean Y. Davis. “Pumpkin Patch Day delighted our children and created a day of fun, learning and memories.”

With traditional field trips suspended by the pandemic, school official extended their imaginations and their work day to create pumpkin patches seemingly overnight to surprise students arriving for school. The plan - in the works for weeks - required a dry and sunny day.

Mother Nature created an opening Wednesday with rich sunshine and warm breezes.

Teachers, staff, volunteer parents and custodians arrived long before dawn to create pumpkin patches in their respective schools’ large green spaces, complete with pumpkins for each student, hay bales, scare crows, corn stalks and mums.

In Richton Park, Richton Square Elementary School Principal Narishea Parham was as excited as the children, waking up at 2:30 a.m.

“I never went back to sleep because there was so much to do to prepare for the students,” said Parham. “When you saw the students’ faces you knew it was worth all the effort.”

Every pre-schooler through 3rd grade received a pumpkin to paint, decorate with stickers and take home. The suppliers “tossed” in a few extra pumpkins to reach a total of approximately 2,000 pumpkins.

The participating schools in the Matteson School District 162 included the following elementary schools:

Richton Square School in Richton Park

Matteson Elementary School in Matteson

Arcadia School in Olympia Fields

Illinois Elementary School in Park Forest

In addition to creating the pumpkins patches to surprise children upon their arrival, teachers incorporated math, science and art lessons into a day of out outdoor games and indoor learning.