Kids boarding Tina Hutcherson’s school bus in Oklahoma City are stepping into something a little extra special this winter. Before the temperatures drop, Hutcherson decided she wasn’t going to let a single child face the cold without a warm head and a smile to match.

“I didn’t want any of the kids to be without,” she told ABC affiliate KOCO. And once her daughter gifted her a new knitting machine for her birthday, the longtime crocheter knew exactly what to do with it.

Hutcherson has been driving for Putnam City Schools since 2013, a job she says she’s grown to love. She transports more than 100 students a day from elementary through high school. When she’s home, her hands rarely take a break. “My hands have to be moving when I’m at home all the time. So, when I get home and change clothes, I’m crocheting, I’m knitting. It just kind of relaxes me,” she said.

Earlier this month, she tried out her upgraded knitting machine. “I knitted one, and it took about 30 minutes to 45 [minutes], and I was like, ‘Oh Lord, I gotta make all my babies some hats on the bus now,’” Hutcherson told ABC News.

So far she has knitted 25 reversible hats for elementary students, letting each child choose their favorite colors. Their excitement was instant. Some even made homemade thank you cards just for her.

The veteran driver plans to spend Thanksgiving week knitting hats for her older students too, and at 63, she says she’s more than happy to keep going.

“I love it. And then I love my kids, because, like they say, we are the first faces they see,” she continued. “They need love. They just need a smile, even if they don’t say hello back. They know you said something to them.”

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Kayla Kissel

Kayla Kissel is a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she studied broadcast journalism and political science. She’s passionate about storytelling that uplifts, informs, and inspires. At Majically News, Kayla hopes to bring a blend of strong journalistic values and feel-good energy, driven by her belief that everyone has a story worth telling.

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