Students at Cloudland Elementary recently got the chance to express their creativity and improve their reading while helping their school get into the spirit of Fall.
As part of a school-wide project, students were asked to decorate a pumpkin as a character from a book they had read and bring it to the school to be displayed.
Third grade teacher Jessica Sparks, who spearheaded the project, has been more than pleased with the results of the project.
“I would never have expected this turnout, “ she said. “They exceeded my expectations.”
Dozens of students brought in pumpkins, which Sparks and members of the school’s Gardening Club have displayed around the entrances to the school.
“It’s every grade here,” Sparks said of the school-wide event. “We even have some Headstart kids bring in pumpkins.”
Among the many different characters portrayed by the students are Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Minons, Charlotte and Wilbur, Cinderella, and Curious George.
This year, the Carter County School System is focusing on a literacy initiative and Sparks said she felt the pumpkin project would be a fun way to tap into the students creative sides while encouraging them to read.

“Our hope was the students would be pouring through their book deciding how they wanted to protray their character,” she said.
Not only did the project have an affect on the students’ school work, she said it also helped generate family time as the students worked at home on the projects and received help from their families.
The project was sponsored by the Gardening Club, which is a small group of eight students in the 5th and 6th grades at Cloudland Elementary. Sparks said a local business, G&S Shrubbery, donated mums to the school to be used in the Fall display along with the pumpkins. The Gardening Club was responsible for setting up the displays, tending to the plants.
Today was the deadline for students to enter their pumpkins into a contest at the school. The winner will be announced at the Highlander Hike event and will receive a special prize.