HANDS ON LEARNING! Introducing Officework's Learn and Grow Range.

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What a treat! It was like Christmas for me!

I love a good stationery shop! There is something about office supplies and equipment to help keep me organised that is so exciting! OK before you think... what a sad woman... hear me out!

Together with my children, I recently attended Officework's Sydney launch of their new "Learn and Grow" range and it is more than you would expect in terms of office supplies and equipment! 

What an exciting range of products on offer at Officeworks for children to help them to Learn and Grow.  There are over 4000 products in the range and include puzzles, games, chore charts, stickers, posters as well as arts and craft supplies.  The Learn and Grow range includes trusted brands such as Ravensburger puzzles, Playdoh, Orchard games, Melissa and Doug, Crayola and more!  It also includes a range of Officeworks home brand supplies.   One of the best things is the affordability of the products.

We received an awesome "goodie box" from Officeworks to introduce us to the Learn and Grow range.  It is wonderful to see children dive straight into their creative ideas when they get their hands on supplies.  At the launch Mr 7 made a "bow", lots of "feathered arrows" and a holster to hold those arrows (see the photos above as he began crafting the "bow").  Miss 11 years was keen to get crafting as soon as we got home with our "goodie box".  Her choice picks were the large pad of paper, textas fluoro dough and modelling clay.

The only problem with the "goodie box" was keeping some of the supplies for myself and my OT kids!

Here is one way that we put some of the Officework's supplies into action. Using spice jars, I added some googly eyes, a foam nose and foam mouth (one is actually the letter "G" on the side).  My little OT friend helped to unscrew the lid and add "feathers" as hair by poking them into the holes. Whilst a fun colourful activity, there were lots of therapeutic benefits that we were addressing too!  We worked on crossing the midline  and bilateral coordination (read more about this here), fine motor skills and a pincer grasp. 

This vibrant number peg puzzle (by Melissa and Doug) was another way we worked on a pincer grasp. Hiding under the numbers were pictures to help with number identification and counting.  We used pom poms to continue working on a pincer grasp and crossing the midline too.

Later I added an extra level of difficulty by asking this child to hold onto a pom pom with his third/fourth and fifth fingers whilst using his thumb and index finger to pick up the pom poms. This skill is called the separation (or disassociation) of the two sides of the hand is an important fine motor skill for handwriting, scissors, buttoning and other functional tasks (read more about this here).

Playdoh and any other "dough" materials are such a wonderful sensory tool for hands on learning. It is so versatile and can be used for forming into shapes, letters and in pretend play.  You can use playdough to encourage hand strength,  fine motor skill development, sensory exploration, finger isolation, bilateral coordination and more!  Find more ways to use "play dough" here.

I was truly impressed with the range of products available in the Officeworks Learn and Grow range. I've been a long time fan of the Officework's "smelly" stickers and my OT kids expect these each time I see them (unfortunately none of these in my goodie box).   The scent is really strong and brings back memories of "scratch and sniff" stickers that I remember receiving as a child. 

Find the "Learn and Grow" range in stores or online atOfficeworks (delivery within Australia only).  There are so many opportunities for "hands on learning" waiting for your kids. 

What is your child's favourite way to learn? Am I the only one who likes browsing an office supply store?

Cindy is a registered Occupational Therapist practising in Sydney Australia.  She has two young children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. 

Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Disclosure: I was gifted products from the Officeworks Learn and Grow range for the purposes of a review.  Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand.

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