With temperatures dipping into the mid-30s Thursday morning, it did not take long for students at Ballard Elementary School to pick out their perfect pumpkin.

There were approximately 700 to choose from in a small nook next to the side parking lot at Ballard that served as a temporary pumpkin patch.

Kindergarten teacher Staci Reith said her class would use the pumpkins in creative ways to learn about things like math, reading and writing.

For instance, the children in Reith’s class tasted pumpkin seeds and kept track of how many students liked the taste and how many did not. They also used adjectives to describe the pumpkins with the help of Ballard fifth-graders.

Later, Reith said the students would weigh the pumpkins, find out if they float in water, count the number of seeds inside their pumpkins and write about their findings, among other things.

Using pumpkins, she said, is one way to engage students in a different way.

“Learning should be fun,” she said.

Other classes at the kindergarten through fifth grade building also participated in the fall-themed educational opportunity.

Reith said it was the sixth year Ballard has offered the pumpkin patch to students.

Pumpkins were donated by Reith’s parents, Mel and Sherri Burdue.