The Light Table: Why every classroom should have one

In the Reggio Emilia approach, light is considered an essential element in creating a beautiful, stimulating, and inspiring environment that fosters children’s creativity, curiosity, and sense of wonder. It is seen as a tool that supports learning, exploration, and self-expression.

Light is used in various ways in the classroom, from the use of natural light to create a more comfortable environment to exploration and inquiry where children explore materials that interact with light. One way to do this is by using a light table.

The light table is a surface with translucent glass of plastic with a light behind it. The unique visual effects produced by a light table, including shadows, reflections, and color mixing, stimulate children’s curiosity and encourage them to investigate and inquire about the materials placed on top of the light table. Working with a light table can enhance children’s focus and concentration, helping to support the development of attention skills.

The light table is a flexible learning tool that offers endless learning opportunities. Here are some ideas of what you can do on the light table:

Place some sand on top of the light table. The children can use their fingers or brushes to create their own sand drawings on the light table. If you’d like to have it more teacher-guided, you can place letters or other forms underneath the sand for children to trace.

The light from the light table will give a new dimension to the materials you place on top of it. When placing various leaves in different stages, children get to explore these leaves in a new way. They will see other details then they might have seen without the light table. Add some magnifying glasses and some pens and papers for observational drawings, where children can document their newly found knowledge.

Ever thought of covering your light table with a plastic sheet and having children paint directly on it? It’s a great way for the children to explore colors and even mix them. Have various colors available and different materials to paint with and let children explore the endless possibilities with paint.

At the start of the school year, we work on building a community within our classroom. The light table is an ideal place to collaborate with their (new) classmates and to explore what we look like. Have photos printed of each child and place them on the light table. The children can place a vellum paper on top of the photo to trace their classmates and create friend portraits.

Other items to put on the light table.

• Anything translucent, like magnatiles, shapes, letters, etc.
• Photos from different provocations.
• Natural materials like wooden blocks, sticks, flowers, pasta, etc.