Teacher leaves inspiring messages at homes of students

POLK COUNTY, Ga. - It's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

"It's probably been my best day since we've been out the past two weeks," Eastside Elementary Teacher Natoshia Tyquiengco said.

But for the Polk County teacher that's hardly enough from what a dining room snapshot was able to convey.

"i just really missed my kids. I want them to feel loved and special," she told FOX 5's Brian Hill.

This past Friday, the grandmother of one of "Ms. Ty's" students captured a moment of social distancing.

Separated by a dining room window, it was the first time the teacher and student saw each other in a while.

"It was really cool going up and being able to touch through the window and being able to touch hand to hand through the window," Tyquiengco said.

Tyquiengco, like many teachers across the country, is unable to see her students due to schools closing because of the coronavirus.

"Some of my students, like one, i was at the end of her driveway and she kept screaming 'Ms. Ty, I need my hug.'"

But Ms. Ty didn't just see some of the kids , she also left notes on the sidewalk in front of their home - with their parents permission, of course.

One note reads 'I love and miss you! Ms. Ty.'

"You end up loving them like they're your own, and then we are told we can't see them anymore. We get why it needed to happen," Tyquiengco said as she held back tears.

As of now, Georgia schools are closed for a few more weeks.

Tyquiengco said other teachers in the school district are planning other activities to continue engaging with their students during the closure.