Playing With Lights

Mike made a light table for Evalynn for Christmas this year, and all three of our younger children have really enjoyed playing with it, enough so that we decided to gift one to Theodore for his 5th birthday.  We go days at a time without plugging it in, but then we play with it steadily for several days at a time.  I try to keep some of our light table toys tucked away and only bring them out when we are using the table, which keeps them fresh.

Mike said he would rework Ev's table soon (we now call it the prototype) to make it more polished like Theo's with the curved edges and inset top.  His really is lovely.  We also bought Theo lights that respond to sound/music, Alexa, and have both a remote and phone app.  We will probably get a set of those for Ev's.

Just in case anyone needs light table inspiration, here are a few of the things I have so far put together for our table and Theo's...

These letters are made from translucent pony beads melted using silicone molds.  Very strong and very fun.

Dollar tree party favors....they are actually whistles but we just use them as fun planes.  Translucent is key when looking for light table activities.

water beads in a clear bottle.....so pretty!

I used these to make us both a set of "build a letter" shapes.  They are pretty for color mixing, too, and I thought I'd make Ev a set of shapes with them.

blue + red = purple

translucent ponies from Dollar Tree

haven't decided what to do with these yet...

translucent party favor bracelets and ping pong balls

Dollar Tree strainer and cocktail stirrers 

The sensory bags are filled with clear hair gel from Dollar Tree and then have different items - pony beads, googly eyes, pom poms.  I will say we've had one pop (even taped around) but my bigger kids were really hard on these.

Sand tray...this was for Theo - Ev wasn't ready for sand.  Although I do have more sand to make one for Zayden.

clear "shot" glasses for different activities...

sensory bottle...

Playing airplanes!

I ordered these blocks from Oriental Trading and they've been a huge hit and surprisingly strong!  I think we might want to try the Lego type bricks they sell soon.

Zayden likes these, too.

Wal-Mart party favor aisle, pull back cars.

Most recently we bought a set of magnatiles and EVERYONE loves them!

Theo's light table was a pretty big success for his birthday...

isn't it pretty?

The kids really liked the translucent lizards that we bought to go with his table.  Again, check out the party aisle!  

We're having so much fun playing with lights.  If you have any great light table activities, throw them my way!