My oldest daughter started kindergarten this week. I’m finding the whole experience a bit surreal. First, there’s the fact that my daughter, who was just born yesterday, is starting kindergarten. She’s at real school. And the school seems wwwaaaaayyyy too big for my baby.
Then there was registration, especially amusing when I had to go to the station that I was working at my home school. The woman very patiently told me how to sign-up for Edline…just like I had been telling parents the day before. I left with a huge stack of papers, many that I had giving to parents at last years registration when that was my spot.
I walked into the office, but wasn’t allowed around the desk. I went into her classroom and was (nicely) escorted out so class could begin. I went home and logged onto Edline to get information…using my parent account. I couldn’t just call down to the office to check on her.
I had to do everything that the parents of all my students do, and it is nothing like I thought it would be.
This will be interesting seeing education from the other side.
Teacher in Transition 
This experience will make you a better teacher. Seeing things from the other side does give you a different perspective, but also, seeing what your own child goes through will help you see what some of your students go through. My daughter is entering the tenth grade this year, and I can remember when, even as an elementary student, something would happen that would give me an eye-opening experience into the lives of my students and their parents. When my very smart daughter began having trouble with spelling despite being a very good reader, I had a better understanding of my students. I think my patience grew as well. It’s hard to explain all the ways that being a parent of children in school has changed my teaching, but it has.