It was hard to judge who had the most fun — a group of MTSU agritourism students who prepared agriculture-related “Harvest Handbags” or the 80 Homer Pittard Campus School first graders and teachers who received the autumn ag bags full of goodies.

The 13 college students couldn’t plan for the annual holiday visit with Santa in the Tennessee Livestock Center in early December, as instructor Alanna Vaught was forced to cancel because of COVID-19 concerns early in the semester.

Homer Pittard Campus School first grade students Cooper McDevitt, left, Mary Bryant Vaughn and Kylie Medina display the handheld pumpkins, which were part of the Harvest Handbag items provided by the MTSU agritourism class. Black stickers were included, so the youngsters could make their own pumpkin faces. (Submitted photo by Homer Pittard Campus School)

So, led by Lily Steed, a sophomore from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, and others, they carried agriculture to the Rutherford County School that has been a teacher-training partner with MTSU for 90-plus years.

The MTSU School of Agriculture crew provided handheld pumpkins and stickers to make pumpkin faces, fun crafts, bags of shelled corn for counting, a student-driven video, bookmarks, coloring books, a book for the teachers and more.

Members in instructor Alanna Vaught’s MTSU agritourism class collect items they placed in 80 “Harvest Handbags” for first graded students at Homer Pittard Campus School, a part of Rutherford County Schools and partner with MTSU for more than 90 years. (Photo by Max Lafrenier)

The entire project “was a lot of fun,” said Steed, 19, who grew up at Circle S Farms in Wilson County. “Overall, it was a good experience. Everyone worked great together.”

The MTSU students created a 3½-minute video. Steed said “the entire class had a part — speaking, editing or filming it on campus.”

Vaught said her students “once again stepped up and did a terrific job.”

They all wanted to personally deliver it — and see the children’s faces — but COVID kept that from happening. Campus School secretary Anna Ingrum met Vaught and a handful of students at the back loading dock. A health and safety protocol meant quarantining the bags for 72 hours.

Campus School first grader Amelia Throneberry uses crayons on the coloring book that came with the Harvest Handbag — a gift from MTSU School of Agriculture agritourism class students to 80 youngsters at the Rutherford County School and MTSU teacher-training partner. (Submitted by Homer Pittard Campus School)

“It was such a wonderful surprise to receive the Harvest Handbags from MTSU’s agritourism class this year,” said first grade teacher Anne Mayes. “My students were thrilled. Dr. Vaught and her students clearly put a great deal of thought into what would be engaging to my children and what would help them learn more about agriculture in Tennessee.”

“More importantly, they learned lots of facts about farming and all the ways we depend on our local farmers each day,” Mayes added. “I also appreciated the wealth of teacher resources that were included in my bag and the read-aloud book on pumpkins that I could share with my class.”

Angela Fuller said her class “really enjoyed the corn for counting in groups of tens, decorating the pumpkins as jack-o-lanterns, reviewing the life cycle of pumpkins and learning about how it compares to the life cycle of corn.”

“The class favorite was decorating the leaf that changed colors when they colored on it,” Fuller added. “I want to thank them for providing our class with such fun and engaging materials to close out our pumpkin unit.”

—Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

Gracey Law, right, and other MTSU School of Agriculture agritourism class members prepare the Harvest Handbags, which were taken to Homer Pittard Campus School. (Photo by Max Lafernier)

Brooks Bergsieker, a student in teacher Anne Mayes’ class at Homer Pittard Campus School, holds a colorful leaf that was part of the items in the 80 Harvest Handbags made and delivered by MTSU School of Agriculture agritourism students. (Submitted photo by Campus School)