'Keep dreaming:' Elementary class receives Valentine's Day greetings from across the U.S. and beyond

Feb. 14—Smiles and infectious giggles lit up the room as Kelsey Jackson handed out the latest batch of hand-crafted cards to her first grade class while a wall filled with love from around the globe tinted the classroom in a kaleidoscope of red and pink hues.

Jackson said she never expected her project to receive a Valentine's Day card from each U.S. state for her Will Rogers Elementary class to go viral. The idea came from a college friend, and Jackson got approval from her principal Preston James before making a post on Facebook.

Overnight, her world changed.

"It was overwhelming, but in a great way. I woke up to you wouldn't believe how many messages from people all over the U.S.," Jackson said. "'Hey, I'm from...' and they would tell me facts about where they live. And it's so cool."

Soon, envelopes, letters, and even large packages began pouring into the McAlester elementary classroom. Jackson said she even began to get phone calls from people who saw her post, wanting to know what kinds of things the kids would like to be sent.

"Normally it's just from the office. And my students always answer and (say) 'welcome to Mrs. Jackson's class. How can I help you?'" Jackson recalled. "And (the student) said, 'um, she needs you.'

"She was a teacher from Oregon. She said, 'hi, I'm from Oregon. How many students do you have?' she explained. "And I was like, 'Twenty!' She said, 'All right. I'm sending you some!' That was cool. So yeah, it blew up and it's fun, but I've gotten to know so many people and have a lot a lot more friends now."

Jackson's goal was to color in every state as it comes in to the classroom, and keep track of how many arrive from each state to see who will "win." And every time one comes in, the class reads them together and spends time learning about each state.

"We might as well just sing the Blue's Clues 'we just got a letter' up in here. It's awesome. The office warns whoever brings the mail down and says 'now just warning you, they will scream,' and when they say they mean me," she laughed. "I will pull stuff up on the board. We've listened to different languages, looked at pictures. And a lot of people have been really good at telling us cool facts, like where McDonald's originated from and Pizza Hut — all the fun foods. So my kids love that."

Jackson showed off some of the cards that covered the length of one wall of the classroom that have started creeping their way to the ceiling — cards that played music, pop-up cards, cards that included letters, and more. Many of the messages have also come from fellow first-grade classes across the county, hoping to write letters to each other. Jackson then pointed out one of her favorites that came from artists in Hollywood, with an inspirational message to the class.

"We've had a lot of schools send us letters with first grade classes and asking them to be pen pals. So I'm hoping to continue that, and I think it's neat. I think we can continue to reach out and write back and forth," she said. "I had a card from Los Angeles — it said 'Artists in Los Angeles' and told them that they actually drew the card and it's beautiful.

"And they said 'keep dreaming, from the artists in Los Angeles.' I'm like this is awesome. This is awesome."

But the class isn't just receiving Valentine's cards. They are also getting postcards with colorful pictures, packages that contain things like school supplies, books about each state, or special gifts such as a sock monkey or snacks from that state.

Jackson noted a package from Hawaii that recently arrived and was filled with snacks and treats, as well as a book teaching about the Hawaiian language and the word "aloha."

"What's really awesome is you can tell the love that people have for their state. And they say 'we hope you come visit!' But the biggest thing is this is teaching my students is to dream big. You don't have to just stick in one (place)," Jackson said. "I know that we want our babies to stay forever, you know, but it's like, look at all these places. The world is just huge. There's so many opportunities for you to travel and go anywhere...and do whatever you want to do. So I love that. I love that."

The cards aren't just coming from across the country, as Jackson has also started receiving international mail — with at least four continents being represented. Letters and messages from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Australia, have begun dotting the cascade of cards along the classroom wall.

And Jackson said she has kept the return address of every single letter and package, and her class will be writing messages back to every single person who has made their dreams come true.

Jackson herself has been further inspired, hoping to continue to do more projects like this one with all her new friends — bringing the entire world to her classroom in southeast Oklahoma. And she's thankful for everyone's help and support, including the McAlester community.

"First off Mr. James, he is the best, the best boss ever, and he is always going along with my crazy wild ideas...and really just all my friends and family, everybody on my Facebook, just from around here. McAlester just went after it for me and shared and shared, and I just love it. They are the reason that this is here right now."

And through all the fun being had and lessons learned, Jackson hopes that her class will always remember the power of kindness.

"Every day when we get new cards, I tell them 'look at all these people that don't even know us from all over, and they're taking time out of their day to send us love, and it's so kind,'" she said. "Valentine's Day is all about friendship, and just being kind to one another. And that's probably the biggest thing — and the second would have to be to keep dreaming, that there is a lot out there and I hope that they never forget this. I will not."