Homemade Light Table

I've seen these popping up on Pinterest all over the place, and I finally decided to make one.  I decided to empty out a tote that has a see-thru bottom, flip it upside down, and put a camping light on the inside.  Most of the ones I have seen use Christmas lights, but I did not feel like digging around the basement for those.

For various objects to start the light table exploration, I had found these awesome see-thru cars at the Dollar Tree.  They are all neon color, but it really comes through on the table.  I also took different colored translucent binder dividers, and traced various shapes onto them.  Not only was this fantastic for shape recognition, it was great to play with color mixing and see what would happen.  It was not as dramatic as a transformation as I was hoping for, but it did the trick.

Carter did not get a chance to explore, since he was in bed early that night.  However, Pierce and I had a blast going through the house to see what would work.  We found that our music scarves work great for the light table.  We can layer them to change the color.  He also learned that by folding the scarves, they became more opaque than translucent.  (sneaky mommy also taught him how to fold in the process, and now loves folding towels).  We also picked up lake weed and mica to look at the following night.  

The light table has become a part of our classroom.  I cannot wait to purchase x-rays from Amazon so the boys can see what their bones look like.  I also have some translucent counters on our way, and I know the options are endless for exploration and learning.