The Move Room NZ

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.

🧠💪 LITTLE HANDS BIG SKILLS ! 🧠💪 Learning to open a zip lock bag might seem simple — but it’s actually a powerful fine mo...
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.

⭐️ THE THERAPY ROOMS MINI MART ⭐️Whether we’re an SLT or OT, everyday activities like shopping are full of rich learning...
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.

🙌 PEGBOARD POWER! 🌈Who knew a simple peg board could pack such a big punch? 💪🧩At therapy, we love using peg boards to he...
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. 😄

✨ BUTTONS + BUBBLES ✨ Little fingers doing big work! 💪 At The Move Room, we love finding playful ways to build fine moto...
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. 🫧

🌟 SENSORY PLAY + FOOD 🌟Food isn’t just for eating — it can also be a powerful sensory tool! 🍎🥦🍋Exploring food through pl...
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 🤍

🟧 IT’S ALWAYS LEGO FOR US!!! 🟦In our clinic   isn’t just play, it’s a powerful   tool that helps us support children’s d...
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!

⭐️ BEAN BOX ⭐️Sometimes the simplest resources make the biggest impact! Today we pulled out one of our long-time favouri...
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 🤍

🕷️ SPIDERS IN THE BALLPIT?! 🕷️ Don’t worry — they’re pretend! 😄In our paediatric OT sessions, we love hiding surprises i...
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.

⭐️ WHY TUNNELS? ⭐️You may spot tunnels popping up in our OT sessions - tunnels are so much more than just a piece of pla...
05/10/2025

⭐️ WHY TUNNELS? ⭐️

You may spot tunnels popping up in our OT sessions - tunnels are so much more than just a piece of play equipment! 🌈💡

Crawling, wriggling, and rolling through tunnels gives children:
✨ Proprioceptive input - deep pressure to muscles and joints that helps the body feel grounded and organised.
✨ Vestibular input - movement that supports balance and body awareness.
✨ Motor planning practice - figuring out how to move their body through a space.
✨ Strength & coordination building - using big and small muscles together.

Tunnels are also motivating and fun — which means children are practising important skills without it feeling like hard work. 🙌

💭 Next time you see your child crawling through a tunnel, know they’re getting a whole lot of sensory and motor benefits along the way!

✨ THROWBACK WITH PURPOSE ✨Looking back on this photo so much has changed since then, but it beautifully captures somethi...
16/07/2025

✨ THROWBACK WITH PURPOSE ✨

Looking back on this photo so much has changed since then, but it beautifully captures something that remains the same: our commitment to evolving alongside the children and families we support.

In paediatric occupational therapy, no journey stays still. Our clients grow, their needs shift, and life brings new challenges — and new strengths. As therapists, we evolve too. We deepen our knowledge, refine our approaches, and tailor goals to meet children where they are now, not just where they started.

Looking back helps us appreciate how far we’ve come — and how much potential still lies ahead. 💫

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

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