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Monday 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 1pm

The Move Room NZ

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The Move Room NZ

The Move Room is an Auckland based private paediatric occupational therapy clinic working with children/teenagers up to the age of 21.

01/12/2025

⭐️ CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS: LOOM BANDS⭐️

With it being the first of December, you maybe looking for a gift that’s fun and supports development? Thats where loom bands are perfect!

From an Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech-Language Therapy (SLT) perspective, they help children:
✨Strengthen fine motor skills – pinching, looping, and weaving improve hand and finger strength.
✨Boost hand-eye coordination – following patterns requires precision and focus.
✨Encourage sequencing and planning – creating designs teaches step-by-step thinking.
✨Support attention and patience – completing a bracelet or keychain is a satisfying, achievable goal.
✨Facilitate social and language skills – trading colours, describing designs, or explaining steps encourages conversation and vocabulary.

🎁 A loom band kit isn’t just a gift – it’s a mini therapy session disguised as fun!

12/11/2025

🧠💪 LITTLE HANDS BIG SKILLS ! 🧠💪

Learning to open a zip lock bag might seem simple — but it’s actually a powerful fine motor and sensory workout! 🌟

Here’s what’s happening when a child practises this skill:

👋 Bilateral coordination – using both hands together in a coordinated way (one to hold, one to pull).
✋ Finger strength and dexterity – squeezing and pinching those tiny grips helps build the muscles needed for pencil control, buttons, and shoelaces.
👀 Visual-motor integration – eyes and hands working together to find where to start and line it up.
🧩 Motor planning – remembering the sequence: pinch, pull, separate!
👂 Sensory feedback – feeling and hearing the ‘zip’ helps the brain know how much pressure to use next time.

It’s a small everyday task with big developmental benefits. 🙌

✨ Try it at home by hide small toys or snacks inside zip lock bags for a fun “mystery bag” game.

10/11/2025

⭐️ THE THERAPY ROOMS MINI MART ⭐️

Whether we’re an SLT or OT, everyday activities like shopping are full of rich learning opportunities!

🧠 Why we love it:
Shopping routines build executive functioning, fine motor skills, social communication, and numeracy concepts — all in a meaningful, real-world context.

💬 In The Speech Room:
⭐️Practising asking for help and making requests (“Can I please have…?”)
⭐️Using sequencing and retelling skills to plan the shopping trip (“First we get fruit, then milk…”)
⭐️Expanding vocabulary around categories (fruit, dairy, snacks) and attributes (heavy, round, cold)
⭐️Exploring money language — “How much?”, “costs”, “change”, “expensive/cheap”

🤸‍♀️ In The Move Room:
⭐️Pushing a trolley or carrying a basket builds core stability and bilateral coordination
⭐️Picking items from shelves or counting coins strengthens fine motor control and hand–eye coordination
⭐️Practising planning and sequencing (“Find 3 items on your list”)
⭐️Using play-based money handling encourages numerical awareness and visual–motor skills

💡 Therapy idea:
Set up a “Mini Mart” in your clinic or classroom! Include picture shopping lists, real packaging, play money, and price tags.

Children can:
📝 Write or match shopping lists
💰 Count out money
🗣️ Practise polite exchanges with a “shopkeeper”
🏃 Move around to collect items

These playful experiences make functional learning stick — connecting movement, language, and real-life independence.

02/11/2025

🙌 PEGBOARD POWER! 🌈

Who knew a simple peg board could pack such a big punch? 💪🧩

At therapy, we love using peg boards to help kids build:
✨ Fine motor skills – strengthening those fingers and improving dexterity.
✨ Hand-eye coordination – planning where each peg goes and following through.
✨ Focus & patience – small wins lead to big confidence boosts!
✨ Bilateral coordination – using both hands together in fun, meaningful ways.

Plus, it’s fun, colourful, and motivating – the perfect combo for playful learning! 🌈

Whether it’s creating patterns, sorting colours, or racing against a timer, peg boards make therapy active, engaging, and full of smiles. 😄

28/10/2025

✨ BUTTONS + BUBBLES ✨

Little fingers doing big work! 💪

At The Move Room, we love finding playful ways to build fine motor control — and buttons (or a bubble machine!) are perfect for strengthening finger isolation and developing the use of the pointer finger ☝️

Why it matters:

👉 Encourages separation of hand movements (so one finger can move independently)

👉 Builds coordination for tasks like writing, zipping, and using scissors

👉 Supports communication through pointing and gesture

Some of our favourite activities:

💡 Pressing buttons on light-up toys or musical boards

💡 Taking turns pressing the bubble machine for cause-and-effect play

💡 “Press to start” games — think cars, switches, or sensory buttons

Each press builds confidence, control, and connection — all through play. 🫧

23/10/2025

🌟 SENSORY PLAY + FOOD 🌟

Food isn’t just for eating — it can also be a powerful sensory tool! 🍎🥦🍋

Exploring food through play helps children:
✨ Get comfortable with different textures, smells, and colours
✨ Reduce mealtime anxieties by building positive, pressure-free experiences
✨ Strengthen fine motor skills through scooping, squeezing, sorting, and pouring
✨ Expand language as we describe what we see, feel, and taste

Whether it’s squishing peas, stacking crackers, or making patterns with pasta — sensory food play can open the door to more confident eaters and more curious learners 🤍

20/10/2025

🟧 IT’S ALWAYS LEGO FOR US!!! 🟦

In our clinic isn’t just play, it’s a powerful tool that helps us support children’s development in fun yet motivating ways.

When we bring out the LEGO, we’re targeting so many skills at once:
✨ – strengthening little fingers through pinching, pressing, and pulling pieces apart.
🧠 Planning and sequencing – following instructions, organising pieces, and building from an idea.
💬 and – describing, requesting, problem-solving, and collaborating during play.
🎯 – matching, spatial awareness, and recognising patterns or shapes.
💪 Bilateral coordination – using both hands together efficiently.
😌 Emotional regulation – focusing, persisting, and managing frustration when things don’t go to plan.
🤝 Social interaction – turn-taking, sharing ideas, and working as a team.

LEGO builds so much more than towers, it builds confidence, resilience, and creativity. ❤️

It’s one of our absolute favourite tools to use in sessions because it meets kids where they are ✨ through play ✨ and helps them grow in ways they don’t even realise!

15/10/2025

⭐️ BEAN BOX ⭐️

Sometimes the simplest resources make the biggest impact! Today we pulled out one of our long-time favourites — our big box of beans.

Why do we love this? 🤍

✨ Builds fine motor skills through scooping, digging, and hiding objects
✨ Supports OT goals like strengthening hand muscles, developing grasp, and improving coordination
✨ Provides rich sensory input — calming for busy hands, alerting for curious minds
✨ Encourages language as we label, request, and describe what we find

A perfect blend of sensory, OT, and SLT goals — all through play 🤍

12/10/2025

🕷️ SPIDERS IN THE BALLPIT?! 🕷️

Don’t worry — they’re pretend! 😄

In our paediatric OT sessions, we love hiding surprises in the ball pit. It might look like just a fun game, but there’s so much therapeutic purpose behind it:

🖐️ Tactile exploration: Reaching through the balls to find hidden objects helps kids tolerate different textures, build sensory awareness, and develop fine motor control.

🧠 Visual scanning & attention: Searching for specific items (like a certain colour spider) supports visual perception, focus, and sustained attention.

💬 Language & social skills: We work on describing what’s found (“I found a red one!”), turn-taking, and following instructions — all through play.

💪 Core strength & coordination: Moving, balancing, and stretching through the ball pit gives a full-body workout in disguise!

And of course… it’s so much fun! 😍

Play is powerful — and when it looks like a hunt for spiders, we know we’re targeting sensory regulation, engagement, and developmental skills all at once.

Address

A3/18 Oteha Valley Road Extension, Albany
Auckland
0632

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 1pm

Website

http://www.themoveroom.co.nz/

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