#Light table portable
#Light table series

Two years ago we both posted the same project, on the same day. I couldn’t have written this post without mentioning that as I was working on this project, my friend Anna at The Imagination Tree posted her own DIY Light Box for Sensory Play. Our projects are nearly identical, and this isn’t the first time this has happened! Click on the links to see how Anna made her sensory light box.

#Light table portable

This small box doesn’t have the big-impact, scale-wise, as our homemade box, but it’s portable and I love it for tracing projects (mama makes art too!). Dbmier makes a similar tracing pad that’s recommended for stenciling, 2D Animation, Calligraphy, Embossing, Scrapbooking, Sketching & Drawing, and Sewing projects. We also have a sweet little 5″ x 7″ Gagne Light Panel that I found at a local art store. If making your own light box doesn’t appeal to you, there’s an enormous selection of store-bought options to choose from.

Magna Tiles (Oh, how I would love a set of these).

More cool design materials that you might enjoy

3-D Geometic Solids – these are so cool!.

#Light table series

My 2-year old saw this and added a red circle in the middle of one of the “flowers.” Then she decided to build a whole series of flowers with my assistance (below). I set all of the materials out as you see in the photo above. Seed the project: My kids are most responsive to this invitation if I seed the table with a few ideas.Play! Place a few bowls of transparent manipulative materials near the light box and invite your child to create.We were able to close our box on the cord, but this isn’t necessary. Holiday Lights: Spread a string of holiday lights around the inside of your box.Use clear tape so that the tape doesn’t show. Tissue Paper: Line the inside of the lid with tissue paper and tape it in place.Stay clear of parchment paper as it’s impossible to tape it to anything. White Tissue Paper (the kind you wrap gifts with), wax paper, or tracing paper.

I’ve also spotted really nice boxes at IKEA, which may be worth hunting down. Under-the-bed style clear storage box. This Rubbermaid Storage Box (affiliate) is fantastic and this one with a snap top lid also looks great.If you don’t already have one of these, you’ll wonder why not. Like painfully simple! Wait ’til you see. Once I wrapped my head around this project, it couldn’t have been simpler. I wanted to include a light box tutorial in my forthcoming book and recognized that our light box wouldn’t be easy for other parents or caregivers to replicate, so I started tinkering. If you’ve been following my blog, you may remember the overhead projector that we salvaged for just $5 from Stanford’s Re-Use Department or the DIY Light Table that we filled with salt and water beads. Their unique nature can add a magical element to child’s play and encourage curiosity, exploration, and problem-solving. Light tables like this are great for preschoolers, as they inspire them with sorting and designing compositions. Light Tables are wonderful for exploring the play of light, shadow, color, and transparency. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make an inexpensive DIY light table.