There is more than one way to pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Just ask a student in Mindy Christy’s kindergarten class at Ballard Elementary School in Niles.

“I look for the right size and shape,” said Addison Miller.

“I want a short stem,” said Gwen Rosenhagen. When asked why, Rosenhagen replied, “Just cuz,” adding that she will name hers “Short Sleeve.”

No matter the method, approximately 700 students at Ballard Elementary walked away with their own version of a perfect pumpkin Monday.

Darla Schneider, volunteer coordinator for Niles Community Schools, said a Niles family who wishes to remain anonymous donated more than 700 small to medium sized pumpkins to the school’s pumpkin patch.

It’s the fourth year in a row the donors have done so.

“They are known as grandma and grandpa to the Ballard kids,” said Schneider. “We’ve found that for a lot of the kids here this is the only pumpkin that they get, so that is why it was so special for the grandparents to continue that. We want to see everyone get a pumpkin for the holidays.”

The pumpkins will be used in numerous ways to promote learning.

For instance, Christy said her students would be cleaning out, measuring and weighing their pumpkins. They will also find out whether they sink or float when placed in water.

Schneider said some of the older students would help their younger student “buddies” paint the pumpkins as well.

“We do a lot with our first grade/fifth grade buddies,” she said.