Small Lightbox DIY

What a fun, functional, educational and perfect "toy" for kids! These lightboxes are so versatile and can be used to teach little ones endless subjects in a new and engaging way. I've seen lots of different  DIY lightbox tutorials online lately. I decided to take ideas from many different ones and make my own. You can make them any size you'd like, but these individual sized boxes are perfect for little hands and can be very easily stored. Plus it helps minimize the arguing and maximize the fun! :) 

 

What You'll Need (I found most of my supplies at the Dollar Tree!)

A clear plastic box with a lid

a push light with batteries

Foil

mod podge

white tissue paper (if the bottom of the box you buy is not already opaque)

Various see-through items to play with such as: craft stones, beads, clear colored page dividers, cups, xray printouts, etc.

 

 

I drew letters, numbers and shapes on the backs of these craft stones with a permanent marker.

We sorted in many different ways.

 

Directions:

 

Using mod podge, line the sides and inside of the lid with aluminum foil.

Line the bottom of the container with a single layer of white tissue paper if your box is not already opaque.

Turn on the pushlight and turn the box upside down so the light shines through the tissue paper and play in a dark room.

 

The fun is endless with the lightbox! I used the clear dividers to cut out letters and shapes. My sister has even printed out x-rays onto clear overheads. And a great part about this project is that you can store all the supplies in the box until your little ones are ready to play again!

Bird houses

 

We took advantage of a great deal at JoAnn craft store and bought these cute little wooden birdhouses for only $1 each! We just used the paint we already had at home. Now the boys are excited to hang them out on the trees as soon as the storms pass.  

Number Hop

I made numbers using painter's tape on the tile floor. Then I would call out a number and my little one hopped from one to the next. Great way to release energy and practice number recognition. Next time we may even try to do some adding or putting down some letters for letter and sound recognition. Great activity for a chilly inside day!

DIY Toy Building Bricks

Materials: Empty boxes (I used sturdy rice milk cartons), duct tape. 

1.Save clean sturdy boxes. 

2.Cover them with duct tape. 

3. Build!

Box Shape Fun

Materials: cardboard box, box cutter, markers, stickers, balls

We made this game based on the idea found on this website. I thought it would be fun if the kids were involved in the decorating process. We colored it with markers and then stuck a bunch of stickers on it. Then I gathered all the balls and bean bags that would fit into the shapes and they put them through the shapes. With my four year old we also played a game where I would tell him "Put the ball in the...." and then would call out a shape. 

Fly Swatter Game

Materials: New fly swatter, paper flies (using word), contact paper, tape, or lamination. Dry Erase marker, sticky tack.

1. First I made a word document with 26 flies and printed it out.

2. Then I cut out small squares our of the same paper to put in the center of the fly with glue.

3. I then put a strip of clear tape over the fly and cut them out. You can also used contact paper or lamination to laminate them and to have a surface for writing with a dry erase marker. 

To play: Decide what topic you want to review, such as, letter, lower and upper case, shapes, numbers, letter sounds, sight words, etc. and write them on your flies. Stick them with sticky tack on your wall. You can certainly put magnets on them and put them on your fridge to play. Call out a letter and have your child swat it! 

Bean Bag Toss Game: Shapes

Materials:  a piece of fabric, a bean bag, bottle caps, a computer to make a grid with the four shapes. 

1. I painted the shapes on an scrap of fabric. 

2. I made a word document with four of each shape and printed it off.

To play: toss the bean bag on one of the shapes and put a bottle cap as a marker on the chart. You can play alone and try to get a certain row, column, or fill out the whole chart, or play with several people and work together. Or you could also have each person be a different row and try to get those shapes before the other person gets theirs. So many possibilities!

Scratch and Sniff Watercolors

Here's a great art activity you make with Kool Aid. So fun and it smells good too. I found the idea here.

Easy Drum

MATERIAL: empty container, construction paper, glue, foamy stickers, sticks for drumsticks

1.We glued construction paper to cover the container.

2. We put all kinds of stickers all around the drum.

3. We found some sticks to play our drum

4. We put on music and made some noise!

Color Scavenger Hunt

I made a little chart with several names of different colors. Then we used these orange tubes from a game to spy for things in our house that are each color. You can use paper towel rolls as your spy tubes to search for your objects. It was a hit!

Puppet Theater

I used a large t.v. box to make this easy puppet theater. My son and I painted it together.

Materials:

cardboard box

hot glue

box cutter

paint

glue

scrapbook paper for the stars

old fabric for the curtains

Cardboard Boxes

Since I've been packing a lot lately my son has found many uses for cardboard boxes. They can be a house, car, they can color the inside and outside, they can use it a tunnel, hide and seek, etc. Who knew a cardboard box could be so much fun! :)

Bean Bag Toss

My son loves to throw things! I discovered he loves bean bags for that reason. I decided to make some simple bean bags out of old scraps of clothes and fabric I had. Then I set up a few baskets and containers for him to throw them into. If I get more ambitious maybe I'll eventually make him a bean bag toss board with holes to throw them into out of cardboard, a box, or wood.

Fort

I recently found out my little one loves to play under a fort I made for him. It's an old game we all played as kids and it seemed to entertain him for a little while. I just tied a sheet to his crib and secured it on the other side with his dresser. It would also be fun to bring in some stuffed animals, blankets, books, etc. This one's also good for kids of all ages!