Do you have a light box or light table in your classroom? These are great for sensory learning and the great thing is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on a light box! I’m excited to show you how to make a DIY lightbox for your classroom!
DIY LIGHT BOX
Materials:
A plastic box with a lid (find a lid with as few lines as possible, mine is Sterlite 24L x 16W x 7H), LED lights, metallic spray paint, and frosted spray paint. The LED lights can change colors, and flash, or the students can use the remote to pick the colors! I use these lights from Amazon:
Step 1: Spray paint the inside of the box metallic. This helps reflect the light up and out! Do not spray the lid with metallic paint.
Step 2: Spray paint the lid with the frosted spray paint. This keeps the light from being too bright! This is not necessary but helpful. I have made a second light box without the frosting and works great! The frosting will also scratch and scrape off over time but we’ve used our light box for 10 years and it’s really not bad at all and hasn’t been redone at all.
Step 3: Drill a hole in the bottom corner of the box for the rope light. Slide the slide through.
Then place the lights in the box. Run the power cord through the hole that you drilled. And that’s it!
You can also use two sets of LED lights, which can be different colors! And yes the lights are bright enough to work in the classroom with the lights on.
We use these small plastic cups (Yes, they’re shot cups!!!!) from Dollar Tree. These make excellent manipulatives for the lightbox!
To see ideas on how to use the lightbox for math and literacy, check out these posts:
