the basics - a kid-friendly "light box"

Today's tip is a simple one that was was born out of necessity. I did something similar in college using glass but this time I needed to come up with something safer.

A few weeks ago our son wanted to trace the face of a tiger for a drawing that he wanted to do. He was having a hard time with the paper against a window thing, holding it up to a lamp, etc. I don't own a light table so...

Light bulb moment—literally!

I told D to sit down on a kid-sized chair which is actually too big for him now—but worked perfectly for this idea. I pulled out an old white cutting board (the cheap Ikea translucent type) and told him to put the board on his lap, but to keep his feet and legs apart. I placed a small lamp on the floor between his feet. To keep things safe I made sure the lamp had a eco-friendly bulb because they don't get hot. He placed his sheets of paper on the board and it was perfect—he even mentioned how cool it was!

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I can't mention the kids working on projects without showing off a bit.

Here are recent creations of my resident artists. The 2nd graders worked on horses (copied from a drawing on the blackboard) and the 5th graders worked on Picasso inspired hearts. I love all the colors!