Dear Mr. President: Lessons via letters

"Dear Mr. President," writes Jada Wolle, a kindergarten student at St. John the Baptist School in New Brighton. "I want all baby pigs to be safe."

"Are you a good President?" writes St. John the Baptist first-grader Megan Thienes. "You could help the poor."

"Dear Mr. Obama," writes first-grader Aaron Morris, who is, for the most part, a decent speller, "I hope you will be a fair persen ... and share lots of stuff with people."

President Barack Obama is about to gain 34,000 advisers -- elementary school children, some from Minnesota, who are asking him to stop the war in Iraq, feed the homeless, lower taxes, prevent crime and protect every animal on the planet, especially puppies and, yes, baby pigs.

"Mail to the Chief" is a national handwriting campaign driven by Handwriting Without Tears, a Maryland-based handwriting curriculum used by selective schools throughout Minnesota, from Grand Marais to Granite Falls. The program was created to help children learn to write without struggling, said Tammy Dobbins, a teacher at St. John the Baptist.

"We wanted to give children something important to write about and somebody important to write to," Jan Olsen, president of Handwriting Without Tears, said Monday from Cabin John, Md.

The letters, which Olsen said were mailed 10 days ago and are soon to be delivered to Michelle Obama's staff, deal with subjects as diverse as race, autism and the Peace Corps.

The 107 kindergartners, first- and fourth-graders at St. John the Baptist School in New Brighton who wrote letters weren't bashful, either.

"Dear President Obama," writes fourth-grader Alyssa Wicks, "Please stop the war in Iraq ... lower the taxes."

"Make health insurance work," pleads Ryan Sully, 10.

Jack Krieger, 9, wants lower gas prices. Morgan Hunt, 10, worries about companies filing for bankruptcy. Several kids were concerned about littering and the safety of babies. And Tessa Skubal, 9, asks: Why can't more cars run on batteries or solar power?

"Keep the cities safe," writes kindergartner Aidan Kadid.

Jessica Glamm, 6, drew a picture of the White House with a note saying, "We Wellcome You." Kindergartner Jacob Woolf, a cat owner, writes, "Keep the animals safe." First-grader Jenna Jarmoluk, 7, suggests, "Feed the poor."

Others offered advice on choosing a puppy. Not first-grader Jessica Norton. Jessica writes, "You can get rocks and make a square flat for a mat." If you're confused, Jessica adds this P.S.: "I am just giving you an Idea to make a mat."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419

More examples of the 34,000 letters from school- children across the nation are at www.hwtears.com.