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3 FUN First Day of School Traditions

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3 fun first day of school traditions

remember this post?…

How Does She help her kids feel

EXTRA special

on their first day of school?

Many of my friends and I have adopted Emily’s

BIG COOKIE

tradition from when she was a little girl so here she is to tell you all about it…

—————————————————–

Summer is almost over, and that means school is starting!
New Teachers,
new classmates,
new school supplies,
new school clothes,
and even new schools!
No matter which grade your kid is going into, the first day always seems to be
a little scary, mostly fun, and always a big deal!
At my house, when I was a kid, the first day of grade one* was the biggest deal of all!
This is because my mom made,

The Big Giant Cookie!

3 fun first day of school traditions
(Insert by Missy: I had to throw this one in – check out this bike!!!  I want it. And Emily looks cute.)
3 fun first day of school traditions
I can’t believe that I’m willingly showing you that picture,
but it really was cool coming home from my first day of school to my very own
“Big Giant Cookie!”
After watching my three older brothers get their grade one cookie,
it definately was everything my little six year old self could have dreamed of!
Actually, let’s be honest, I didn’t really remember my older brothers getting their grade one cookies,
but I had seen the pictures!
Now that I have kids,
I think my mom was actually celebrating that
one more of her little tykes was going into
FULL TIME SCHOOL!
At least that’s what I was celebrating when I did it for my first kid.
When Missy asked me to do this post with her I thought-
“But I don’t have a first grader to make the cookie for!
My mom only did it when we went to grade one!
I can’t break the tradition!”
Then I decided it could be fun to do every year.
But I still wasn’t sure,
so we pretended to make one for my daughter,
who isn’t even in Kindergarten yet.
3 fun first day of school traditions

This cookie recipe is the best one I have!

3 fun first day of school traditions

Mostly because it is really delicious, but also because of the story attached to it. We call them “Creepy roomate cookies” because my husband (boyfriend then) had this roomate who made them almost every day to lure young ladies into his trap!  He wouldn’t let any of the boys have any, but whenever I came over he would force the cookies on me. I shouldn’t really say force. It shames me to admit it, but they were so good that I was nice to my “almost husband’s” strange,  personal space invading, over cologned, creepy  roomate just so I could eat them! So yada, yada, yada… he gave me the recipe as a wedding gift, and I was actually excited! So enough with the hype, here is the recipe to my husband’s

Creepy Roommate cookies

2 sticks butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
Mix, then add-

3 fun first day of school traditions 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp water
(I don’t know why a tsp of water would make a difference, but creepy roomate did it, so I don’t mess with it!)
Mix, then add-
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
½ bag chocolate chips
(or 3/4 of the bag, or the whole thing. You know you want to!)
-Dough will be very sticky!-
plop onto pizza pan

3 fun first day of school traditions

Spread out evenly onto a round pizza pan

3 fun first day of school traditions

Bake at 350  for ten minutes and check every two to three minutes after, until golden brown.

Trick for writing on the cookie:
put frosting and food coloring in a plastic bag and smoosh til blended, then snip off the corner

3 fun first day of school traditions

and write!
3 fun first day of school traditions
As you can see, she loved it, and when my boys got home they loved it too!3 fun first day of school traditions
What’s that?
Why don’t I just do it every year you ask?
Well, I just might,
but then how will I commemorate the momentous occasion of
full time school?
Regardless of the reasons,
going back to school traditions can be a lot of fun!
Here are two more fun traditions to start with your kids on the first day of school:

#2 bomb the bus

3 fun first day of school traditions

with water balloons!

3 fun first day of school traditions

RUN!3 fun first day of school traditions
You might want to make sure the kids are entirely off the bus to avoid angry bus drivers!!! Hindsight is always 20/20.
3 fun first day of school traditions

#3 measure you’re little one’s growth

3 fun first day of school traditions
Remember Alison’s wooden growth chart?  It works perfectly for this!
Whatever you do, just don’t let it pass you by!
Think of something fun to do and then make it a tradition.
When I was a kid it sure made me feel special!
*My husband just reminded me that Americans don’t say “grade one,”
so please forgive the Canadian words/phrases.”
3 fun first day of school traditions

I have to properly introduce Emily.  You vaguely know her from the rainbow polka dot party and angel wings posts.   She has flown under the radar for long enough, it is time you meet her.

3 fun first day of school traditions

Five Fun Facts:

1. I like to talk, a lot, except when I’m supposed to, then I’m way nervous!

2. I’m a Canadian living in America, and my Mom’s an American living in Canada.

3. I always make the person that I’m talking on the phone to say goodbye first. I don’t really know why, I just refuse to do it.
4. I love to read good books.

5. And now for the most important thing you need to know about me, the older I get, I like peanut butter less, and dark chocolate more!

Super Hero Power wanted:

If I could have any super power I would want the ability to always know the right answer. Then I would never have to second guess myself… and I’d always be right, which really does sound like a LOT OF FUN DOESN’T IT?

Thanks Emily!

You are always answering my HowDoesShe questions and this was no exception.
My kids LOVED their BIG COOKIE!
We are participating in these linky parties…thanks!
Including TCB

About Missy

A mother of 5 who holds a degree in English and run on sentences. She has a passion for photography, especially capturing life's sweet moments. She has a serious addiction to Oreos, coconut oil and sushi...not necessarily all at the same time. She is one of the 3 founders of HowDoesShe.com.

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Comments

  1. Claudia Bridge says

    Emily – this a so great!!! What fun to see a daughter carry on a tradition … and by the way I did not celebrate your leaving I did it because I missed all of you and the day was long with you being gone!!! Maybe I felt differently with child # 9!! Jokes.. The new traditions are exceptional – love all the photos and adore you… love, Mom

    Reply

  2. Alison says

    Em…I did the the cookie idea from you last year, but I made the cookie into the shape of a 3 for 3rd grade. It was burnt one one side and not done on the other side…so I am so glad I can see the big cookie idea. That looks a lot easier and a lot more appetizing!

    Reply

    • Emily says

      Props for making different shaped cookies! Missy and I had a bit of a burning problem too, I filled the pan too full and the overflow caught fire in the bottom of my oven! Oops!

      Reply

  5. Staci Starnes says

    Em…I absoultely LOVE YOU! What a fun idea. I LOVE the pictures of when you are little. We’ll give the “creepy roomate cookie ” recipe a try when my boys go to school this year. Oh, and you are a great decision maker..you just like weighing your options and thinking things through. That’s a GOOD quality! I’m sad I won’t see you this weekend. I wish I could be in 2 places at once. Love you much! 🙂

    Reply

  6. Jen says

    Love your ideas Em! You need to be a regular on here!! I like doing the grade numbers too…then I can do it every year for each kid!

    Reply

  8. Jennifer says

    My oldest son will be starting Grade One in a couple of weeks and I think this will become a new tradition in our house!!
    (BTW – I did a double take when I saw the pic of you on your bike…is that an Alberta licence plate on that Suburban I thought to myself?? Can’t be… So I went back and read your bio a little closer to see where you are from lol.) From one Albertan to another, thanks for the great idea!!

    Reply

  9. Meagan says

    Yay! A fellow Canadian (I’m not living in America like you though) 🙂
    Thanks for the great idea, I’ll definitely be doing this when my little one goes to “grade one” 😉 (which is coming WAY too soon!)
    .-= Meagan´s last blog ..the BIG LONG post! =-.

    Reply

  11. Heather - Chickabug says

    What a great idea! I love the Creepy Roommate cookie recipe story – LOL!! I have a very similar story in my own experience, except the guy in question used fish to get his dates to come back to his apartment. (As in, “Why go out to dinner? I have a beautiful piece of fish at home!”) Worked EVERY time, apparently! : P
    .-= Heather – Chickabug´s last blog ..NEW! Halloween party printables =-.

    Reply

  12. Shelley says

    This post melts my heart a little. I can’t wait to do these things for my kiddos when they get a bit older…

    Reply

  13. stacy says

    This is such a darling idea. I am so sad my kids already started school last week and I didn’t make them a giant cookie. Maybe I will make it late anyway and start on time next year. I can’t wait to try the recipe and see my kids smiles when they come home to their very own giant cookie. Thanks for sharing…I love your ideas!

    Reply

  15. Ashley says

    That’s a yummy idea! Here’s another that I’m stealing from a friend who homeschools (this is our first year to HS), but homeschool or not, it’s cute. She has her kids fill out an “about me” for her just like teachers do at school. She asks them what their fave stuff is (color, activity, etc) and has them draw a picture of themselves.
    .-= Ashley´s last blog ..Im gonna do whaaaat =-.

    Reply

  16. Rochelle says

    Dumb question but…. I’d like to make the cookie recipe but not as one big cookie…just as normal regular sized cookies. Will the cookies still turn out?

    Reply

  19. Jacklyn says

    Wow I have such a fancy sister, I need to find the picture of me with my grade one cookie. And I agree with keeping it just for the first day of grade one, maybe cause that’s how we had it but man I remember awaiting my cookie, it made grade one special. And just a side note, classic Mom to take the picture when the cookie was half gone like “Oh wait I need a picture of that”. Love the post Em and maybe now you can get Missy to feature our soap carving or our peach can stilts that we made as kids…they were classic!

    Reply

  23. Sarah @Bumblebeeandsophie says

    I love the idea of making occasions special by little traditions like this! Now that I have a daughter of my own I’ve been trying to think back to all the creative things my mom and dad did when we were kids. I think those traditions were such an important part of forming our identity as a family and as individuals…probably why my brother and sisters and I all turned out OK:-)

    Reply

  27. Heather Odom says

    My kids would flip for the BIG cookie!! The only tradition we have is my kids (a now 5th and 7th grader…wow) always wear s’thing red the first day of school. There is nothing special about red…it’s not our favorite color or anything like that…it just happened to be what my son wore on his first day to kindergarten and first grade and I thought it’d be neat to keep it going. I’m glad I kept it up!! I’m hoping they keep it going with their kids one day too! =)

    Reply

  30. Nesleirbag says

    What a great idea! Those two little cuties look so excited peering over the counter – what a fun tradition! Howdoesshe, more wonderful ideas and great job, Emily!

    Reply

  31. Hannah says

    what size pizza pan did you use? I made the recipe with a 12 inch pizza pan and it was too small. I had overflow and a super thick cookie that took forever to bake.

    Reply

  33. Christi Marcotte says

    Love the picture of 6-yr-old you! So fun! My guys are starting 3rd and 5th tomorrow and I was looking for a fun tradition to add. Thanks for sharing your tips! I think a great big cookie might be in our future! I mean, who doesn’t love a big giant cooke?? :o)

    Reply

  35. clarisa says

    Hi Emily…I’m also stealing your wonderful tradition of the big cookie, I think I’ll be making it every year for my son:)

    Reply

  36. Jennifer says

    I just wanted to pop in and say…. I saw your giant cookie recipe back in 2013, just before my son started kindergarten. Tomorrow is his first day, now a sophomore in high school and I am just about to finish his back to school cookie. I have pictures of his first day every year with his cookie. I’m usually up late making it, but it is so much fun in the morning.

    Reply
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