Second-Graders Are Taking Note of Chelsea : Irvine pupils write to the First Child with advice, questions and invitations in a project aimed at getting them interested in current events.

IRVINE--Simon Schafer wrote to Chelsea Clinton shortly after Chelsea’s father became President. “I thought she might be sad after she left all her friends in Arkansas,” Simon said.

Jonathan Arditti wrote to say that he was glad there was a child and a cat in the White House and that he hoped Chelsea wouldn’t get lost in her new home. “Try not to get mixed up with your room and another room,” he advised.

Christine Hong wrote to say that Chelsea looked pretty in her new clothes and that she shouldn’t worry about being shy. “I can tell that you are shy. I’m a shy girl, too,” Christine said.

While the rest of the country is focused on President Clinton and his economic plan, 30 second-graders at Alderwood Basics Plus Elementary School in Irvine are more concerned about 13-year-old Chelsea and her cat, Socks.

“We started talking about President Clinton and about things that were going to be different in the White House,” says teacher Pat Godwin, “and Chelsea and Socks both kept coming up.”

At the time, Godwin was trying to devise a way to make history more relevant to her pupils. She was also looking for a way to make a second-grade letter-writing assignment more interesting.

The result was a collection of 30 letters, mailed recently to Chelsea.

“I told them that they may not hear from her,” Godwin says. “But they chose to write to her because they can identify with her. And they have lots of questions for her. Has she made new friends? What color is her room? What’s her favorite room? Plus they want to tell her about the economy, jobs, the environment, all that too. I have never had a class so interested in the presidency before.”

Once the letter-writing project began, Godwin says, her pupils started watching the news, looking for Chelsea and Socks. “We taped part of the inauguration and they saw that. Through (Chelsea), they became interested in the President.”

Godwin believes the letters to Chelsea will be an effective way to introduce her class to the policy-making decisions in Washington. “I hope to make them more aware of the issues a President deals with,” she says. “As a teacher I want this to be a pleasant experience for them--and for Chelsea, too.”

Although Chelsea is older than the 7- and 8-year-olds in Godwin’s class, the second-graders are very interested in her, Godwin says. “Just the idea of having a child in the White House. This is the first time in their lives that a child has been in the White House.”

In the first batch of letters, mailed a few weeks ago, several children invited Chelsea to visit their classroom. Others complimented Chelsea on her wardrobe or her hair, and some tried to cheer her up because they felt she might be sad after moving from Arkansas to Washington. “I know you left some friends behind, but I promise you will find new ones,” wrote 8-year-old Mougeh PalaAhmari. “Whenever you are lonely, I will be happy to be your friend.”

Chris Wilke wrote: “You lucky duck. You get to be in the White House.”

And from Mallory Shobe: “I used to be an only child like you. . . . I hope you have a nice time at the White House and a nice room.”

So far the children have received no response from the White House, but Godwin is still hoping there will be a reply. In the meantime, Godwin’s pupils are busy drafting new letters. “We’re writing another one as a class, and this time we’ll talk about what they think is important for her father to do,” Godwin says. “They think that if they tell her things then the message may get to her father.”

For example, Divya Chandrasekar, 8, wants to ask Chelsea to ask her dad if he can create a place where kids can have fun and also get exercise. Sarah Aleem, also 8, wants Chelsea to ask her dad if he can help the homeless.

And Simon Schafer wants Chelsea to encourage her dad to “help save the environment.”

Parents such as Cheryl Brass Okamoto, whose son Geoffrey is in Godwin’s class, say their children have suddenly become very interested in current events. “What impressed me was that he took an interest in actually watching the news,” Okamoto says. “All of a sudden every night he is asking, ‘Is Chelsea on? Is President Clinton on?’ Now even if it doesn’t involve Chelsea, he is more interested in the decision making of the new administration.”

Patty Christensen says her son Joe has also become more interested in politics.

“Before, I think he thought national politics were just an adult topic,” Christensen says. “What he will do now is when we talk about politics he listens. And when we listen to the national news, he will ask us to explain. The other day he asked me, ‘What does that mean, the national debt?’ That Saturday morning that Clinton talked to kids on TV, he sat and listened to the whole thing.”

Both Okamoto and Christensen believe that the project also helped improve their children’s letter-writing skills. Okamoto says her son’s friends are now composing their own thank-you notes.

“One thing I’ve noticed after birthday parties, thank-you notes are coming back,” Okamoto said. “So the letter writing that is going on applies in other ways, too. They really have focused a lot on writing and integrating language arts. I’m excited because it saves me writing thank-you notes.”

Christensen agrees. “Joe just had a birthday recently, and he had to write nine little thank-you notes, and his notes were much better this year. I think he felt more comfortable. I didn’t get any argument from him this time.”