‘Don’t come back until you are nice’: preschoolers to vandals in open letter

A group of Minnesota preschoolers are learning a valuable lesson in civics.

“I felt both sad and mad,” five-year-old Flynn Bakkum told NBC-affiliate KARE 11.

Vandals had been breaking items in the school’s playground, including smashing glass on their play boat.

“We were playing on some of the stuff they wrecked and it made us feel sad because we couldn’t play on it anymore,” four-year-old Brinkley Schmid said.

READ MORE: Classrooms replaced by the forest at a new preschool in Winnipeg

Fed up, the four and five-year-olds from Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool decided to write a letter to the editor of local newspaper The Echo Press.

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What resulted was a hilariously polite and simultaneously angry open letter. Scroll down to read the full letter.

“Someone is wrecking our stuff and the school doesn’t like that. That is not nice when you wreck our things,” it reads.

The students even offer a solution to the vandals, should they truly want to destroy something:

“We will leave boxes outside for you to break instead.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We will leave boxes outside for you to break instead."

School director and teacher Kristen Peterson said it was a teachable moment that showed how compassionate children are.

“Yes, they are little kids but they need to be heard, too. They have a voice and we should share that more,” she said.

Full letter below:

To the editor:

We are kids at Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool. Someone is wrecking our stuff and the school doesn’t like that. That is not nice when you wreck our things. That is not nice when you wreck our benches and playhouse. Stop breaking glass in the boat because that is not nice.

People in Alexandria, please watch our playground because naughty people are wrecking our things. And, it is not nice, so please stop!

Stop breaking our stuff because we are sad and we have nothing to play with. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Never come back unless you stop wrecking our things.

If you are naughty you will have to go to jail. Don’t be mean ever again. And don’t come back until you are nice. We will leave boxes outside for you to break instead.

The 4 and 5 year old Tuesday and Thursday preschoolers,

Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: To the editor:</p><p>We are kids at Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool. Someone is wrecking our stuff and the school doesn't like that. That is not nice when you wreck our things. That is not nice when you wreck our benches and playhouse. Stop breaking glass in the boat because that is not nice.</p><p>People in Alexandria, please watch our playground because naughty people are wrecking our things. And, it is not nice, so please stop!</p><p>Stop breaking our stuff because we are sad and we have nothing to play with. I wouldn't do that if I were you. Never come back unless you stop wrecking our things.</p><p>If you are naughty you will have to go to jail. Don't be mean ever again. And don't come back until you are nice. We will leave boxes outside for you to break instead.</p><p>The 4 and 5 year old Tuesday and Thursday preschoolers,</p><p>Butterfly Hill Nature Preschool