This Hero of a Teacher Made Toys out of Her Students’ Drawings

What could be better than the fabulous weirdness of a child’s drawing? A real plush toy made from that drawing, of course.

Reid Parker, a dad in Melbourne, Australia, posted photos on Twitter of some amazing toys that his child’s teacher made for the students in her class. Apparently, the teacher took drawings that each student had made, and then based the toys on those drawings.

The teacher matched colors and fabrics to her students’ designs, and turned each creature into reality. The variety of bodies, shapes, and faces among the creatures speaks not just to the breadth of the kids’ imaginations, but to their teacher’s skill in bringing them to life.

All the creatures are incredible, but the very best of the bunch might be “The Bloop:” a blue whale-like creature with little legs and a huge red maw.

As anyone who’s ever wrestled with a sewing machine knows, it takes a ton of skill and practice to make even a simple project from a pattern. This teacher is taking fantastical designs created by 5-year-olds, and then translating them into 3-dimensional objects. There are so many design decisions that have gone into these plushies, from eye placement to fabric textures to deciding where an ambiguous-looking limb should go, and as a fellow crafter, I tip my hat to this talented educator.

When Parker posted the photos, he took the opportunity to remind readers that teachers deserve higher salaries. Here in the U.S., teachers are frequently forced to buy their own classroom supplies, and many are leaving the field for jobs that pay more.

Of course, not everyone on Twitter is content to bask in the wonder of these toys. One commenter lamented that the teacher didn’t have the kids make the toys themselves, while multiple people got on their soapboxes to complain that teachers are actually paid too much. Meanwhile, at least one scam account has popped up, claiming that it’s collecting donations for the teacher.

People are horrible, but at least these toys, and the teacher who crafted them, are a beacon of hope in this grim world. We’ve reached out to see if the teacher would like to comment on the creations she made with her students, but in the meantime, we can enjoy these fantastic little critters.

(featured image: Francesco Ungaro via Pexels.com)