Our homeschool focus has been emotions. The INSIDE OUT Emotions Sensory Bin provoked conversations about feelings, reactions, and communication. We talked about and acted out facial expressions, voice tones, and body language with the help of the Emoji Sensory Bin. These Emoji math activities focused on variety, simplicity, and play.
Number + Quantity Match
Counting is the simplest thing to do with these manipulatives. Adding number manipulatives makes for a fun way to count quantity and match the number.
Attributes + Sorting
These emojis could be sorted in several different ways. I encouraged Liam to observe attributes and put them into “groups of same.” Then I asked him to explain his method and come up with another way and another way. This allowed me to observe his ability to think flexibly, which is a positive and necessary trait in executive functioning.
Graphing
I introduced him to graphing using our emoji 8 ball (as seen in Emotions Themed Unit Bin Tour). Similar to rolling a dice, Liam shook the 8 ball and whichever face it revealed, he found the matching face and laid it on our graph sheet.
Imaginative Play
After the math activities, Liam could play to his content. We already had the number block out and he added in the letter blocks to build a fortress. During free play, I caught him counting and sorting pieces on his own. (Always a good sign).
Unfortunately for the blog, I didn’t take pictures of Liam actually working on the math activities. I’ve realized, pulling out my phone to take pictures can easily turn into an unnecessary distraction. I, also, used these manipulatives in Liam Emoji Sensory Bin.
Check out our Youtube channel to see emoji themed occupational therapy activities.