I have never been one to get overly sentimental about things that everybody does. While I think that it is a big event in a kid's life when they start school, it is something that everybody goes through. I personally think that while you can encourage your child to be enthusiastic and excited, I never went through that "oh...they're growing up so fast" or "he's getting so big" moments.
When I picked Tate up at daycare after his first day of kindergarten, I was approached with the statement, "I don't know if you've already heard about Tate's day...". I knew that it was going to be something different that the normal kid's first day of school.