When six-year-old Kit's teacher asked him to draw his dream monster, he never thought it would become a furry reality.
But the teacher at his school in north Melbourne gave him and his 21 other classmates a surprise he'll likely never forget.
Kit drew 'GooGoo'; a yellow, green and grey caterpillar-looking creature with spikes, and wrote his name next to his artwork.
About two months later, during the last week of the school term, he was handed GooGoo in all its glory - spikes and all - as a Christmas gift from his teacher.
Kit named his monster 'GooGoo', who was brought to life by his teacher at his Melbourne school. Source: Twitter
"Their monsters have come to life. It's pretty incredible," she said.
"Kit said he was so, so, excited, and was pulling all of his excited faces as he said that."
Kit, 6, named his toy monster GooGoo and brought him along to his grandparents' house for the Christmas break. Source: Supplied / Michelle
Kit told his mother that the sentimental gift showed him just how much his teacher loves him.
Reid Parker, whose son Oscar also attends the school, said he was "spellbound" by the creativity and time given to each of the 22 students.
"I took a photo of [Oscar's] toy alongside the drawing he'd done. When I posted in a group chat with other parents from his class, they replied with their own toys and drawings," he said.
With their permission, and in a bid to show appreciation for the teacher, Reid created a thread on Twitter this week to share the drawings along with the real-life monsters.
It has since gone viral with nearly four million views and more than 100,000 likes from people around the world.
"The kids absolutely love them. We've gone home to New Zealand to visit family for Christmas and the as-yet-unnamed toy has come with us," Reid told SBS News via Twitter.
"It's apparently a Therizinosaurus, which he saw recently in [the film] Jurassic Park Dominion."
Reid Parker's son, Oscar, is yet to name his monster who was inspired by the Therizinosaurus in the Jurassic Park movie. Source: Twitter / Reid Parker
"She's done it all in her own time, and at her own expense; it's not part of the curriculum," Michelle said.
Reid said he'd heard the teacher had made the toys for students in previous years.
"Apparently during [the COVID-19] lockdown, she rode around the neighbourhood and dropped off the toys to each child's house," he said.
He said it was an example of why teachers should be paid more for their work.
"Teachers are the people our children spend half of their waking hours with."
"They help to create the people those children are going to become. There are countless stories of people who credit inspirational teachers for their own success."
The average primary school teacher salary in Australia is $83,448 according to Talent.com.
SBS News tried to contact the teacher behind the toys.
She said she felt "very appreciated" by the overwhelming response on social media but didn't want any further attention.
Reid posted on Twitter that someone had attempted to impersonate him in order to raise money around the story. The account has been taken down.
He encouraged people who felt inspired by the teacher's act to donate to a school in their local area.
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