Karen and Alan Douglass visited with grandson Kyle during Grandparents’ and ‘Grand-friends’ Day at Mill Creek Elementary School in 2014. Mill Creek will honor grandparents this year on Sept. 10-11. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Some of children’s most cherished acquaintances will be honored at Mill Creek Elementary School on “Grandparents’ and ‘Grand-friends’ Day,” also dubbed “Muffins and Memories.”

Grandparents’ Day at Mill Creek is a joint effort of the entire school, with administrators, the instructional partner and counselor spearheading the effort.

“Our grandparents have so much to share with us,” principal Carmen Buchanan said. “Our students can learn so much from the past by listening to their stories.”

Students in pre-kindergarten and grades 1-2 will observe Grandparents’ Day on Sept. 10 from 8:30 to 10 a.m., with grades 3-6 scheduled Sept. 11 at those times.

Festivities will start in the media center for baked muffins and refreshments. Grandparents then will visit their grandchild’s classroom. “We’re asking grandparents to bring a memento or special memory to share,” like a school event, vintage photograph or childhood book.

Remembering her own grandparents, Buchanan cherishes the Saturdays and Sundays after church listening to their stories. “One of my fondest memories is helping my grandfather sell tomatoes raised in his garden and learning how to sew from my great-grandmother,” she said.

Last year, Buchanan’s parents attended Grandparents’ Day with her son. “They still talk about how special they felt being included in a special school activity,” she said.

“We want to show our students’ grandparents that we welcome them at Mill Creek,” Buchanan said. “We want them to volunteer and be an integral part of our school culture. This is rewarding for all involved … students, grandparents and our school as a whole.”

At Mill Creek, grandparents volunteer for campus activities, attend PTA meetings, read to students and eat lunch with their grandson or granddaughter. Some students actually live with their grandparents.

If students’ grandparents don’t live nearby, Buchanan hopes these students will meet friends’ grandparents and form those unique and special bonds.

“The more involved any family is with their school, the better,” Buchanan said. “If we expand that support system beyond just the family at home, then we have more people helping our students and in their corner.”