Andalusia Middle School sixth graders learned a valuable lesson in how hard work has its rewards.

What started as a simple classroom assignment has turned into a profitable sale and soon will be a memorable field trip, AMS sixth grade teacher Linda Kyle said.

“We were studying functional reading, which is part of the curriculum for Alabama reading,” she said. “We knew that functional reading was something students scored lower in. I decided we would do a real-life example of functional reading, so I asked them to go home and prepare a recipe at home with their parents. I also asked them to bring it to school for us to try.”

Kyle said the students came up with the idea to make a cookbook using the recipes they chose.

With the help of the students, PTO and sixth grade mothers, the book came together.

“This was a very inclusive project because we were able to incorporate so many skills,” Kyle said. “Students learned computer skills needed to develop the cookbook.”

The PTO decided to sell the book for $10 each and the students sold them.

All together, the sixth graders sold a total of 260 cookbooks, and Kyle said a local business volunteered to print the cookbooks, but wished to remain anonymous.

With the $2,600 the students raised, they are going to take a trip to Columbiana to the Alabama 4-H Center Coosa River Science School on May 20 and 21.

The trip will be an overnight trip in which the students will stay in dorms.

“We are going to participate in Lake Living, which will allow the students to examine aquatic insects and other water critters,” Kyle said. “There will also be a challenge course that will involve teamwork and problem solving on the low ropes. We will also participate in a raptor trek, in which the students will see hawks, owls and eagles.”

In addition, the students will participate in an amazing race and will have the opportunity to use GPS navigation.

The sixth graders say they are excited about what they have learned through this project and what the field trip will encompass.

“I like that we learned how to make recipes and how to put them into books to sale,” said Bolton Davis, who also served as the official photographer for the cookbook.

Madison Robbins, said the project helped her a lot with understanding functional reading.

“I’m really excited about the field trip and what it has to offer us,” she said.

Classmate Malzyzhia Jones said she is excited about the wildlife they will get to see.

“I’m mostly excited about the animals and being in the dorm rooms with my friends, but I also want to do the GPS race.”

Another student, Merikal McCaskill said she enjoyed the project simply because it gave her an opportunity to spend time with her mother.

“It was fun because me and my mom got to play in the kitchen,” she said. “It was a good bonding experience. I’m also looking forward to the field trip because I’ve never seen an owl before.”

Kyle said no one in Covington County has ever done a field trip like this, where the whole class is able to take an overnight field trip.

“I’m very proud of these students and the hard work they have put into this,” she said.