Reading is the recipe for success for several second graders at Tulsa Trail Elementary School.  

Mrs. Kovach and her second-grade students at Tulsa Trail Elementary School in Hopatcong, along with Speech and Language Specialist Mrs. Pietrzak, hosted a “Book n’ Cook” recently.

Over the last few weeks of school, students read numerous books in the classroom and then created recipes to go along with each book.  

Titles such as “Dragons Love Tacos” and “Chocolate Milk, Por Favor” were among the favorites.  The students then cooked each recipe they created. The recipes were put together in a special cookbook and parents were invited to sample the recipes while reading with their child during the “Book n’ Cook” event.  

But Kovach’s students already knew their way around a kitchen.  The class has been cooking in Cafe Kids once a week since September. Kovach and Pietrzak use cooking as a way to combine reading, writing, and math while practicing expressive and receptive language.  Founded in 2013, Cafe Kids was funded through an ING Grant written by Kovach and Pietrzak to implement a functional kitchen for the students at Tulsa Trail. Today, it is still used on a weekly basis and has benefited many students over the past five years.