Lawton Public Schools holds inaugural pumpkin patch with Project AWARE, Indian Education and FFA

Lawton Public Schools hosted an inaugural LPS pumpkin patch event that brought together Project AWARE, Indian Education and the district’s FFA chapter to offer hands‑on fall activities for prekindergarten and other students.

A school staff member described the event as a collaboration between three groups and said it featured three main activity areas: “We have a group that’s going on a hayride and getting to do a petting zoo over here. And we have another group that’s just staying in the middle and they’re playing lots of pumpkin themed games like pumpkin bowling, pumpkin tic tac toe, pumpkin spoonrage,” the staff member said.

Another school staff member echoed the hands‑on focus, calling the pumpkins “very cool” and asking children about their choices: “I love your boys. Show me your pumpkin. What’d you choose?”

Organizers said every pre‑K child attending was allowed to pick and take home a pie‑size pumpkin. The event also included a maze and a pumpkin patch for small groups to walk through, and high school volunteers assisted with sessions after activity directors at each high school helped recruit students. “We got with our activity director at each high school, and they’ve been great. They love the idea. They jumped on board and helped us find students to work each of these sessions out here,” a school staff member said.

Speakers framed the event as experiential learning and community engagement. “It helps them understand where their clothing comes from, where their food comes from, where all those things come from,” one staff member said, adding that early exposure could encourage older students to participate in the FFA chapter. Organizers said planning for the collaboration began in late July.

No formal board actions, votes or policy decisions were recorded in the transcript for this item; the record shows a community event and volunteer involvement.