MORE GREAT IDEAS

CONFIDENCE WALL

To help her child build a strong foundation of self-esteem, Tamiko Nimura discovers that the job is best done brick by brick.

MY THIRD-GRADER, Ella, started her fi rst choir audition by singing very softly. From the piano bench, Mrs. Schmidt, the music teacher, leaned in to hear her. As my 4-year-old, Sophie, and I watched, Mrs. Schmidt led Ella through a series of exercises: repeating a simple melody picked out on the piano keys, watching herself in a mirror as she made diff erent mouth shapes to change her voice’s tone.

But it was the last bit of the audition that impressed me the most. “Now, Ella, I know that singing for someone you don’t know can be challenging,” said Mrs. Schmidt, “but you did very well.” She began drawing bricks at the bottom of the audition assessment sheet. “This is your confi dence wall,” she said. “And you just took a very important step in building it. So the next time you’re scared about having to do something, I want you to think about this wall.” She pointed to a brick and wrote “choir audition” in it. “This brick will be part of your confi dence wall.”

When Mrs. Schmidt introduced Ella to the idea of the confi dence wall, she was also introducing it to me and my partner, Josh. It proved useful a few months later, when Ella had diffi culties with a new friend. As Ella unpacked her lunch, the friend would make a face and say things like, “That’s disgusting. I can’t believe anyone would eat that.” Ella tried acting as if it didn’t bother her, with comebacks such as, “Well, I guess you’re missing out.” After a couple of weeks, though, as the nasty remarks kept coming, Ella struggled to shrug them off .

After some discussion, we encouraged Ella to tell her friend that her behavior was not okay. Not an easy task, but Ella went ahead and talked to her friend the next day. After school, Josh asked her how it went. “It was kinda hard,” Ella said. “She just looked away. I had to ask, ‘Did you hear me?’ She said ‘Yeah, I heard you.’ ”

After she told me the story that evening, I said, “See? You just added another brick in your confi dence wall.” Her eyes lit up. The lunch comments haven’t been an issue since.

ELLA IS a fourth-grader now, and we still talk about the confi dence wall when she’s a bit apprehensive before a test, a play, or a choir performance. This year, when Ella ran for secretary of the student council, she had to give a speech in front of several hundred students. She was nervous, but I reminded her, “You’ve been in front of people before. You’re standing on your confi dence wall.” She smiled, recalling her talk with Mrs. Schmidt.

When Ella and other candidates practiced their campaign speeches in front of a small audience, she didn’t have much energy. Afterward, we discussed the other speeches and why some of them stood out. She mustered her confi dence, and on election day, her teachers reported, she was strong and enthusiastic, opening with a rousing “I want to be YOUR secretary!”

At 9, Ella is nearing middle school, often a challenging passage, but I’m not worried. She has more self-confi dence than I ever had at her age. As a kid, I avoided eye contact; Ella has a direct gaze. While I might have hummed to myself, she exuberantly sings Katy Perry’s “Roar.” It all started that day she laid the fi rst brick in a wall that seems sure to reach great heights.

Tamiko, Sophie, Ella, and Josh of Tacoma, Washington

we asked

How do you manage your kids’ artwork?

TURN IT INTO KEEPSAKES

I take digital pictures of my kids’ creations, reduce the images to about three inches square, and print them onto Shrinky Dinks plastic sheets. These bake down to become fun little charms that we make into jewelry. Larger images become key chains or ornaments. Lauren Hodges Granger, IN

We laminate my girls’ artwork for coasters and place mats.

Tracy Yates Gresham, OR

BIND ART INTO BOOKS

I print photo books of my kids’ work using the website GrooveBook. Each book costs only $2.99 and has 100 pages of 4.5- by 6.5-inch photos. You can even do it right from your phone! Angie Smith Sparta, TN

CURATE A CORKBOARD

Each of my kids has a corkboard to fill with art. The only rule is that all of their artwork must go on the corkboards: they decide what to keep and what to toss. At the end of each school year, what’s left gets put in a memory folder, and we start fresh the next year. Carda Morrison Hillsboro, OR

CHOOSE ACCESSIBLE STORAGE

I store all the kids’ “keep” artwork in three-ring binders with protective sheets. My sons love taking them out when grandparents come to visit. Kary Bijeol Fremont, NH

MAXIMIZE YOUR WALL SPACE

I painted a wall in my kitchen with magnetic paint and use magnets to hang the kids’ artwork from floor to ceiling. It’s like having a really big refrigerator. Amy Hieber Export, PA

SPREAD ART AROUND

I send my kids’ surplus pieces to nursing homes and hospitals to cheer up patients who are lonely. Janet May Dickson City, PA

MAKE IT A SWEET SURPRISE

I have my kids write “thinking of you” notes on the backs of their artwork to mail to relatives. Out of the house but still bringing smiles! Ali Asher Mauldin, SC

STRING IT UP

We run a string along one wall that the kids can attach their art to with clothespins. There is room for only so many pieces, so the kids have to take one down to hang a new one. Annaleesa Hanks Saint Johns, FL

EMPLOY A CLIPBOARD SYSTEM

I hung four clipboards on the wall, one for each of my kids. They pick what goes up on their own clipboard and get to change it as often as they like. Renata Whightsil Roseburg, OR

send your ideas

We want to know:

What are your great ideas for making family life more fun? E-mail us at ideas.familyfun@meredith.com. If we use your submission, we’ll pay you $100.

SAUSAGE SUPPER SHOWDOWN

Dinnertime should be quick and easy—and with Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, it can be! Perfectly seasoned and fully cooked, you can discover the bold and delicious flavors of smoked sausage in as little as 15 minutes!

Join the fun and enter the Sausage Supper Showdown where Allrecipes® top home cooks whip up delicious recipes using Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage!

Every two weeks vote for your favorite recipe for a chance to WIN $10,000 and other fabulous prizes. Plus, find quick and easy recipes for your next family meal.

we asked

What fun ways does your family go green?

RECYCLE AMONG FRIENDS

We hold swap meets with friends and neighbors where the kids trade items they no longer play with. It’s a great way to reduce the number of things you buy and to recycle what might have been thrown away. Cheryl Hullihen Vineland, NJ

My kids cut school fliers into squares, staple the corners, and create their own scratch pads.

Heather M. Arthur Acton, MA

BE ECOFRIENDLY GARDENERS

We grow an indoor herb garden in recycled yogurt, cottage cheese, and sour cream containers that the kids have decorated. And we water the garden with rainwater we collect. Carrie Hill Webster, MA

FROM OUR STAFF START AN INVENTORS’ BOX

I’ve always kept an “inventors’ box” full of interesting trash: empty tape spools, foil candy wrappers, and more. In general, if something can’t be recycled, it goes in the box. For years my kids and their friends turned to it for school and art projects. Neighborhood children still call me when they need supplies! Charlotte Meryman Contributing Editor

REWARD GREEN ACTS

My 7-year-old, Eamon, came up with this idea. Each of us gets one point for turning off a light that’s been left on, and the person with the most points at the end of the month gets to pick a family movie or dessert. Bryan McCreary Amherst, MA

SOLAR-POWER YOUR LAUNDRY

Using a pulley system, we dry clothes outside. To make it fun for the kids, when we hang or take in the wash, we send messages in a special bag from one end of the line to the other. Tim Stokes Westhampton, MA

COMPOST WITH “PETS”

We have pet worms! Our red wigglers turn garbage into fertilizer for our family vegetable garden. They serve as a fun, ongoing science lesson for my 5-year-old, James, too. Becky Williams San Antonio, TX

MAKE COOL TOYS

My four kids and I make many playthings from items we have around the house. We recently used old wooden pegs, rubber bands, and fabric scraps to make Elsa and Anna dolls inspired by Frozen. Michelle O’Toole Sydney, Australia