Light Table Love in Preschool

Ever since I starting hanging out on Pinterest, I have wanted a light table for my classroom.  In fact, I have a board called "When I Get a Light Table", but it doesn't have very many pins on it.  I was always discouraged by how expensive light tables are, and knew that my limited classroom budget wouldn't cover a table.

However, this year I was thumbing through the Back to School Constructive Playthings catalog and I found this:

It's an Ultra-Thin Portable Light Panel, and it was only $119.99 (on sale).   I asked my supervisor to order it, and we have loved it ever since.

I love the most that it's super-light and therefore super-movable.  I can put it on any table surface that's close to a plug, and it's big enough for two Little People to use happily.  It even has a thin, plastic sheet (like a transparency page) over the top of it so that we even do messy things on it without being afraid of messing up the surface.

I also ordered the Light Panel Accessories set, which provided some basic materials to use with it.  However, we have used some of our own fun things on it as well.  Here are some of the fall leaves that I bought in the Target Dollar Spot recently:

Also shown on the table are both lids to the clear containers and petri-type dishes that I also bought at Target.  They have proved to be the perfect containers for the tables - because they're clear, they encourage sorting and/or quantifying, and they were super-cheap!

I'm sure that we will find ways to extend this very affordable Light Table Love for months to come.