The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on pretty much everyone in the world. Businesses have gone bankrupt, the stock market plummeted, and people have been stuck at home for the last few months.

But perhaps one of the most affected industries in all of this is education. Teachers, who have never had to work from home before, were forced to do online learning. No matter the grade they taught, it was expected for them to be able to pick it up and teach their kids from afar.

Of course, besides having to adapt to a new way of teaching, they also had to get used to not being able to see their students in person. And for teachers, who sometimes develop close relationships with their students and love them like their own children, not being able to see them in person has been very, very hard.

For example, one second-grade teacher created a “quarantine hug station” so that she could safely hug her students during the lockdown.

Another teacher from the Netherlands, Miss Ingeborg, who teaches at the Bavinck school in Haarlem, also wanted to do something special for her students when she realized how much she truly missed them.

“It was all up and running that the school closed. It all hit me like this. The children were no longer in school. And I miss them so much,” she said.

So what did she do? She decided to knit 23 dolls to represent each one of her 23 students. Not only was this a great hobby to pick up during her quarantine, but it really helped her cope with her feelings of missing her students.

These weren’t just small, simple dolls. Each doll took careful craft and execution, taking about 3–4 hours each to complete. Why so long? Because of the level of detail she put into each one.

First off, for each girl doll she created, she knitted cardigans, and for each boy doll, she knitted sweaters—both of which perfectly matched up to the uniforms that the students wear at school.

Additionally, she made sure that each doll really looked like each student, taking into consideration their features such as glasses, freckles, even scars!

Once she was completed, she sent a picture to all of her students, who were able to accurately figure out exactly who was who (without Miss Ingeborg telling them). That’s how detailed she made them.

There was only one doll missing: Miss Ingeborg herself! Her students told her she had to create a doll that looked like her—so she did. Now the gang is complete! Hopefully, they can reunite in the classroom soon enough.

How sweet is this gesture by this teacher? Do you know any teachers who are missing their students as they teach from afar?