Light Table Design

This post has moved to http://schoolingatplay.com/2013/09/07/light-table-design/

Water Beads and Light Table

Water Beads and Light Table

Water beads are a hit with every child I know.  They are squishy, slimy, and bouncy.  Who can resist?  And what kid doesn't like a light table.  Put them together for double the fun!

I will be creating a post all about water bead play in the near future but since I am working on light table activities I am posting this water bead activity seperately.

We store our water beads in a clear jar on a shelf next to the light table so my daughter can easily see them and ask for me to get them down.  Water beads are must keep out of reach item.  My daughter, who is excellent about not putting things in her mouth, has even attempted to taste one of these slimy little guys saying "I want to lick water".

A water bead light table game my daughter created during play

I made the light table as DIY project I did (you can find the steps here) so the light does not distribute as evenly as store bought light tables.  My daughter actually likes this better because there are shadowy spots.  She likes to try and corral all the slippery beads into the shadowed areas and then move them into the lighted areas.  If she has two colors of water beads she will put all of one color in the shadow and the other in the light.  She does not play like this with her rocks and jewels so I was surprised when she started doing this with the water beads.  It is a great way to teach light and shadow that I never would have thought of until she created it during play. 

Picture Making Light Fun

This is a great fine motor skill builder.  I use a stencil or free draw objects onto the light table lid with a dry erase marker.  Then my daughter outlines or fills in the pictures using pony beads.  This reminds me of the Lite Brite I played with as a kid. 

This is one of my favorite light table activities because she lets me help fill in the pictures.

Early Math Light Fun

My daughter is not a big fan of math right now but she does like this counting activity.

I made six squares and wrote a number in each square.  I set out the correct number of jewels in the middle of the table and let her separate them into the numbered squares.  She picked up on the idea very quickly .  She eventually wanted more jewels so she could color coordinate the jewels within the number squares.

Early Writing Light Fun

 



This post can now be found here. 

Jewels and Gems

Light table plus colored jewels equals fun!

Stacking jewels on rocks.

Stirring everything together.

Sorting rocks and jewels by color.

She calls these small beads "baby jewels" and "diamonds".

Buried Treasure

This is one of my daughters favorite activities.  She likes to pretend she is a

pirate uncovering buried treasure.

Supplies:  Tub of sand, rocks, jewels, paint brushes, and scoops

Most of the time we do this activity on the light table.

 

She uses the scoops and her hands to bury the rocks and jewels.  Then she uses the

paint brushes to uncover the treasure.

 

 

 

Next time I think I am going to make this activity into an archeology dig by burying some small plastic dinosaurs and letting her find them.  Maybe I will search for some fossil toys online today.

DIY Light Table

Here are some photos of the light table I made for my daughter. 

I just used a shallow, frosted plastic tub and white Christmas lights.

The tub I used had a lid that I could turn over and insert upside down forming a tray instead of a flat service.  It really helps to keep the mess down.

Here is a photo of it lite up.  I have recently lined the box with white paper to help distribute

 the light more evenly.

I will be adding lots of light table activities under the Light Play tab.  I'm always searching for new things so add any of your own ideas or blog links in the comments.