If you’re three years old (or younger), seeing your absent parents’ smiling faces during the day can be extremely comforting.

That’s what prompted Children’s Center instructors Cindy Illingworth and Heidi Bryson to send disposable cameras home with their toddlers, allowing the parents to take photos of the children’s families for the classroom wall. As a result, Cindy and Heidi won a $200 "Best Practices Award" at the Orfalea Networking Conference in Southern California.