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***image1***October is when leaves start falling to the ground and pumpkins suddenly appear on front lawns at the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Child Development Centers.
New transportation safety rules have brought the pumpkins to the children instead of them visiting a local farm, which was done in past years, said Belynda Smith, the garrison’s Child, Youth and School Services division chief. She added that the garrison’s centers – on Miesau Army Depot, Kleber Kaserne and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center – can make these temporary pumpkin patches a part of annual autumn celebrations.
Landstuhl CDC hosted its Second Annual Fall Fest Oct. 9 with children, infants to 5-years-old, having their pick of pumpkins to take home with them.
Parents and childcare providers assisted the children with difficult decision.
Grouped according to age, children had up to an hour to select “that perfect one” out of 125 pumpkins, which all together weighed about 1,500 pounds.
“Having the pumpkins here means that all, even our youngest children, can participate,” said Melissa Barrickman, Landstuhl CDC training specialist.
She explained that only children ages 3 to 5 years old could participate when the center hosted field trips.
“Another advantage (of bringing the pumpkins here) is that it’s more convenient for parents to join their children for a little while instead of taking a whole duty day off to go to the farm,” Ms. Barrickman said.
Many parents did join in on the fun like Maj. Lynne Kramer, a pediatrician at LRMC, who along with her 2-year-old son, Spencer, and his friend, Ryan Metzler, 1, pretended the pumpkins were cars. And, there was Sgt. 1st Class Carla Gathers, the quality management NCOIC at LRMC, who was able to see her 11-month-old son, Justin, enjoy his first autumn.
“It’s his first time seeing a pumpkin,” said Sergeant Gathers, who decided to buy one that night after watching his delight in seeing all those pumpkins.
Senior Airman Brian Hankerson, from the 86th Airlift Wing on Ramstein, was also there helping his 2-year-old son, Brian, pick out a pumpkin.
“It’s just so important for me to spend as much time with him as I can,” he said. “With my work schedule and him being in the CDC most of the day, we don’t get to spend that much time together. So, I figured I would take some time off (to be here) because its important that we keep our family strong so we can function to support the mission.”
Learning continues for weeks after the fall fest celebration, Ms. Barrickman said.
“We will cut open the extra pumpkins and let the infants feel the ‘inners’ (insides), and the older children will help to make cakes and cookies,” she said.
Even the seeds will be used.
“We will dry out the seeds and our cooks will bake them for the (older) children to try, and some we will plant so the children may be able to see how pumpkins grow,” said Landstuhl CDC Director Paul Ward.
