Primary School

The new version of the Kutsawa scissors have superior quality and durability. Scissors can be used with spring opening assistance when children are learning to open and shut. As their scissor skills improve the self opening mechanism is reversed, and they can be used like normal scissors. Plastic covered blades make them safer.

Unique adhesive backed magnetic tape. Can be used to attach anything to a metal surface, or by reversing the tape and applying the adhesive side to a non-metallic surface. Magi Mags Tape can be used to pair with a separate piece of magnetic tape. No scissors required, just tear off. Comes in a 5m roll of 19mm wide tape. Perfect for proudly displaying school projects, artwork, and for holding work up on a vertical surface for children to develop wrist extension.
 

Strong, clear perspex design with metal clip. 20 degree recommended angle. Small rubber stoppers at the base to prevent movement. Designed to be lightweight and portable. Angled Boards (or slope boards) help children to maintain an upright sitting posture and a more extended wrist position while writing. They are highly recommended by Optometrists.

Great game to promote fine motor and large arm skills. Hook your fish and place them on your angling stand. Play according to the rules or your own way. Includes 4 rods, 4 angling stands and 12 fish. Suitable for 1 - 4 players.

Animal Lap Bag, filled with stainless steel pellets, ensuring these are machine washable. Comes in a choice of designs of dog, cat or duck. Weight of 2 kg 

Wheat filled 2kg weighted animal lap bags, designed in either cat, dog or duck designs. Ears and leg pieces make easy fidget parts to the lap cushion.

Great fiddly toy or brain challenge! Bright coloured elastic strings that can be pulled and interchanged. All strings can be interchanged with each other without creating a knot. 

Weighted vests work by providing children with sensory processing difficulties with the deep pressure sensory input that they need to calm and organise themselves. This type of ongoing sensory input can make all the difference for some children. We recommend consulting with an Occupational Therapist to determine if this is an appropriate strategy for your child.

The vests are available in black, royal and navy blue, pink, and red. When ordering a vest please send us an accompanying email indicating your choice of colour and your child's weight. We make the weights up to 5% of your child's body weight. This is the recommended weight, however some children do better with more weight. In this case you can purchase an extra set of weights - see Calming Vest Weights Set.    All prices include heavy weight postage fee.       

Calming Weights are needed to place in the pockets of the calming vest. The pockets are located inside the vest both at the front and the back. The amount of weight needed is determined by your child's weight. Our weighted vests include weights to 5% of your child's body weight contained in 4x double-sewn bags. The weights are steel pellet. Sometimes children do better with a little more, up to 10%. The extra weights simply go in the same pockets inside the vest and can be easily removed as needed. Please send us an accompanying email when ordering to let us know the weight you need.

Songs, rhythms, and activities to support attention, learning, sensory modulation, and self-regulation in the child. With booklet.

The base plate that matches all of the Coko pieces. Size 28 X 28 cm

One of the Coko plates collection. This version includes the diagraphs for word building eg: 'sh', 'ch', 'th' etc. All in foundation script. CD and teachers notes are included. See other parts of the collection: base plate, lowercase letters, vowel sounds and word families.

Popular tool to assist children with early phonetic skills to write. Letters are clearly seen and spaced to make it easy for children to sound out words and then copy what they have made. Look for the coko base plates, sold seperately, and the diagraphs, vowel sounds and word families.

A portable easel with whiteboard and blackboad. Vertical surface promotes great pencil position for early writing skills. Includes 12 colouring pencils, 8 oil pastels, 8 triangular markers, 2 pencils, 2 chalk sticks and whiteboard marker. Good quality art materials.

Cubeo is an innovative tool to assist children to organise themselves for the start of the school day. The cubeo attaches to their school bag. Includes over 80 resuable stickers with a range of essential items, school and extra curricular activities. Essential items such as lunchbox and water bottle appear on the front window. The drop down cards ensure children remember the things they need on specific days of the week. The stickers are reusable and can be changed from term to term.

Double sided photocopiable work cards. Graded from pre-scissor skills to cutting out circles. Guidelines, exercises, and activities for each skill level. Devloped by paediatric Occupational therapists. All exercises tried and tested in the classroom.

These textas provide a novel way for children to practice their fine motor control as they trace the first line with the overwriter to make it change colour.

The Evo Pen is an ergonomically shaped pen that provides children with an alternative pen grip to relieve pain/fatigue when writing. People suffering from arthritis also find this pen to assist with pen control

These puppets enable development of finger isolation skills and tactile awareness. Soft and easy to hold.

Moulded, pliable, heavy duty witches hats. 20cm high. Available in red, yellow, and blue.

 Encourage fun and creativity with serving food for your child. Ceramic plate with face features to allow children to seperate food groups and create a fun picture. 

Dome-shaped pods made from pliable moulded plastic. Pressure can be adjusted and the level of difficulty can also be adjusted by using the pods flat-side down or up. Children develop dynamic balance, body awareness, coordination and motor planning skills. $6.50 each.

Kids love these smelly textas - they can smell strawberry, chocolate, toothpaste, lemons, and more. Pack of 10. Highly motivating.

The Grip 2001 pencil range features the little rubber dots along the shaft of all its lead and coloured pencils. These are our favourite pencils at Skillbuilders! The rubber dots give children extra sensory information which helps with grip, pressure, and control. The leads are a superior quality which sharpen easily and resist breakage. Back to school discounts for bulk purchases as below.

The essential tool for therapists and teachers. This cleverly designed writing aid promotes wrist extension, correct position of pencil in the webspace, correct placement of ring and little finger, and a tripod grasp of the pencil.

Skillbuilders is an exclusive distributor of the HowdaHug seats in Australia. The HowdaHug seats have been around for a long time for adults, but are newly available to children. They're designed as a recreational/camping chair which rolls up easily for storage. However, they are a fantastic option for kids at mat time! Movement seekers can get that bit of vestibular input they need by rocking. Extra proprioception is provided by the way the seat 'hugs' the body. The HowdaHug is also a very practical way to provide postural support to the child with low muscle tone. The Howdahug seat is also available in a Petite version for children 3 - 5 years. (See Petite Howdahug)

The howdahugs are popular in schools particularly for children with SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), Autism spectrum disorders and Attention Deficit Disorder. 

The Jumbo Pencil Grip is an enlarged version of The Pencil Grip. Suitable for preschool children. Supports the fingers and opens up the webspace to maximise writing control and reduce handwriting difficulty. Comes either single or a pack of 5.

The Kids Companion chewelry offers another form of safe chewing for children who may require oral regulation within their day. The chewable hearts come on an 18 " lanyard, in a range of colours. Please let us know if you require a boys or girls colour, by seperate email.

Other products to note are the Kids Companion in chewable circles and the Kids Companion Fidget clips.

The Kids Companion Fidget clip provides another option for children requiring oral regulation during their day. The clip attaches to clothing or pockets and holds either a circle or heart piece for safe chewing. See also the Kids Companion on the necklace either is a circle or heart.

Charades introduction for younger children. Have fun looking at the pictures whilst acting out subjects such as: Lions, Dogs, Cats. Older children can also play and act out things like 'Eating your spaghetti, doing up shoelaces...' We currently have a different version in stock to the one pictured. It's the same game but packaged in a smaller, metal tin.

Game encouraging moving the marble balls within the maze to the animals. Game completely enclosed so no pieces can be removed. Lovely fine motor, bilateral and motor planning game.

Stainless steel lap bag is machine washable.

Stainless Steel Lap Bag, machine washable.

Another tool for handwriting and literacy work. Assists learning without emphasis on precise motor skills. Available in Lower Case letters, 50 pieces. Suggested purchase of a COKO Base plate as well.

 Easy to use PLD resource, outlines how to commence instructing letter formation in an early childhood manner. Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists have designed this resource. Eg: instructions include 'ask students to form the letters in the air with eyes open/closed' or adult says 'put your pencil on the starting dot and write the letter 's' while staying on the grey path. Change the colour of your pencil and repeat'. 

PLD resource book outlines how to commence instructing letter formation in an early childhood manner. Developed by Occupational and Speech Pathologists. Examples: ask students to form the letters in the air with eyes open or eyes closed. 

Adult says : 'Put your pencil on the starting dot and write the letter 's' while staying on the grey path. Change the colour of your pencil and repeat.'

Ideal for children who have stronger auditory skills for learning versus visual skills. Unique and challenging game that encourages children to listen attentively and match different sounds to corresponding pictures. Helps develop listening, audiotry sequencing, concentration and visual discrimination.

The 'Making Rainbows' CD provides 60 minutes of storytelling to capture a child's imagination and carry them off into a world of fantasy. Developed for children aged 7-11 years.

Memory game with fun and interesting characters to remember.

The Miracle Belt  is a product new to Australia. It provides children with calming deep pressure sensory input in the form of a weighted belt. Please follow the following link for more information www.miraclebelt.com. The adult version is named the Sensory Belt. It is exactly the same design, the only difference being the size. Miracle belts are adjustable to fit waist ranges as follows:

MB202 - 40 - 65cm

MB303 - 45 - 70cm

SB404 - 65 - 90cm

 These clever writing tools tactilely and visually cue children on how much space to leave between letters and words when writing. They also feature a 'tracking window' for reading that accentuates black print. The Blue finger spacers are designed from Preschool to Year 2. The green ones are for older children. 

 Comfort and the natural contours of the hand inspired the design of this new pen. Made with special coating that feels like soft silk....finger tension melts away as the natural weight of ones hand holds the pen in place, no tight gripping required. Pen includes two black refills. Also comes in a pencil Pen Again Pencil. 

 The Pen Again Pencil is designed for small hands. This innovative new pencil has the same ergonomic design as the Pen Again. Comes with a 2mm lead that never needs re-sharpening. The wishbone shape design naturally promotes an efficient tripod grasp. Non refillable. Fun colours. 

PLD resource developed by Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists. Introduces comprehensive pre-handwriting programme with activities targetting: pencil grasp, paper position, posture and rehearsal of pre-writing patterns. Occulomotor and visual perceptual tasks are also incorporated including visual memory, tracking and visual discrimination. 

Fantastic fine motor activity. Children follow a design card with their pens that are inserted with string. By pushing through the card the string becomes attached to form the pattern. Suitable for children 4 years and older.

This is a fun game that kids love. An excellent game promoting visual motor, tracking, grasping and motor planning skills. Tiny coloured balls are scattered on the table and players follow sequences on wooden pattern strips, collecting the balls with tubes that 'swoop' them up when the tubes are placed over the balls and pressed down. This game has small balls and should not be used for children under the age of 3.

Ribie foam grips come in a variety of bright colours and tactile bumps

Rhythm ribbons easily held on a ring. Great for crossing midline activities, motor planning and bilateral skills

Set of two sand timers each of 3 minutes duration. Children love to use these as a guide to 'get their work done'.

 Put Saucey Sam on the end of the tomatoe sauce bottle and have fun with the sauce

Soft gripped and comfortable Fiskars scissors for children. Reversed blades allow for cutting visibility for left handers. Ideal for ages 4 years upwards.

A see saw balance board made from durable plastic that will challenge and amuse children while developing co-ordination and balance skills. Children control the board to send the ball through the maze. Seesaw board measures 50cm X 23cm and 2 balls are included.  For 3 years plus.

Skillbuilders Fine motor Kit is designed to be used by students of preschool age or Year 1, requiring additional fine motor input. The kit can be used by 2-3 students, however, it can be modified to suit a small fine motor group of 4-5 children. The Skillbuilders Fine Motor Kit is designed by Occupational Therapists. It includes: Instructions and tips on activities to engage students in when using the kit, Pegboard and pegs, Theraputty and activity suggestions, Wikki Stix and instruction book, Link chain pieces, Wind up toys, Tricky Fingers, Magnetic wands and discs, Marble maze, Jumping frogs, Lace Copy cards with threads, zoo sticks, small threading beads and stress ball. The kit is contained in a durable plastic container.

Skillbuilders Handwriting Kit is designed for the student commencing prewriting skills and learning letter formations. The activities included are fun and use 'different' ways to learn pencil control, establish correct movement patterns, and improve posture and pencil grip. The kit is designed for 2-3 students, however it can be modified to suit a small handwriting group of 4-5 children. Skillbuilders Handwriting Kit is designed by Occupational Therapists. It includes : 

• instructions and tips on activities to engage students in when using the kit,
• information on pencil grasps in children,
• perspex angled writing board,
• theraputty with activity suggestions,
• wikki stix and instruction book,
• plastic tray and shaving cream, 
• upper and lower case letter stencils,
• a range of lead pencils,
• a trial pack of pencil grips,
• a handiwriter,
• coloured lined paper pads to assist with letter sizing, and
• magnetic wand and magnetic discs. 

The Handwriting Kit is contained in a durable and practical box. The saving is over $50 on the value of all the products, with the added bonus of all the information and activity suggestions.

A new style of grip which encourages tripod positioning for both left and right handers.

Speedy Fingers is an excellent game for the development of : organization skills and the ability to replicate patterns, spatial perception, matching abilities, fine motor skills and agility. The balls are inside a sealed ball-holder and cannot escape. Each player has a Speedy Fingers card. Shake the Speedy Fingers ball holder and place it in the middle. The goal - to arrange all the coloured disks on the players board e-x-a-c-t-l-y as they appear in the ball holder.

An easy way to assist children visually to learn and spell basic words. Each set of words is illustrated with easily recognisable pictures to help young children learn 36 common 3 and 4 letter words and devlop first reading and spelling skills.

A word building activity. It includes a pack of 48 child related pictures and 80 letter cards that easily fit together. These cards can be used to make more than 500 words. Great tool to assist children to visually isolate sounds and syllables within words.

A board game designed to help children learn the spelling of 560 selected words, which makes upto 2/3 of the vocabulary of everyday language. Children are expected to spell the words correctly, race along the path on the board and score maximum marks.

A grip which feels like wobbly jelly and helps children relax pencil pressure.

Comfy grip that prevents thumb from overlapping and keeps fingers at correct distance from the pencil lead.

This is the ultimate resource for station-based game sessions. Activities are organised according to skill areas and levels, with suggestions for grading activities up and down.

An at-a-glance game finder lists all the games with details relating to objectives, skills, quipment, safety considerations and modifications.

A small firm grip made of moulded plastic. Great for finger positioning.

Stretch Eze is a unique individual nylon lycra stretch band which can be used for resistance and stretch exercises. Great for sensory feedback as well as muscle strength. Available in small (lower primary), medium (upper primary) and tall.

A solid version of the chewy tubes but in a different design. The super chew has a bumpy stem that offers lots of tactile chewing experiences, to bite and chew. Closed handle makes it easy to grasp for little fingers. Other options for chewing inlcude the 'chewy tubes' and 'kids companions.'

This little kit of 'goodies' is ideal for both clinic-based and school-based therapists, as well as for parents to use at home with their children. Everything you need in one handy pack. Great value with no fuss! The pack includes:

• Information on strengthening hands and fingers (including what NOT to do)
• Activity cards
• Theraputty (3oz. Container)
• Dura-Band (2m length), spft resistance
• Pegs in 2 different grades
• Squiz ball, soft unless a different grade requested 
• Modelling clay
• Geoboard and elastics

One of the most popular grips around. A large, soft comfortable grip which helps position fingers and maintain an open webspace. Suitable for both left and right hands.

Designed by Jan Olsen OTR, this clever little grip encourages correct placement of thumbs on pens and pencils. The 
answer for thumbs that overlap index fingers!!!
1. Insert pencil into inside tube.
2. Insert thumb in outer tube.
3. Pull the thumb buddy up.

Fantastic tower building game, really motivating for children to use their fine motor control to build the largest tower possible. Suitable for children ages 4 years plus. Includes 25 wooden bricks, 1 dice with colours and 1 dice with dots. For 2-4 players

This soft, contoured grip is made of moulded plastic and helps to promote an efficient grasp of writing instruments.

 These clever writing tools tactilely and visually cue children on how much space to leave between letters and words when writing. They also feature a 'tracking window' for reading that accentuates black print. The Blue finger spacers are designed from Preschool to Year 2. The green ones are for older children. 

The weighted blanket provides children with calming, deep pressure sensory input. Many parents have found this to be an effective strategy to help their child settle to sleep. The weight is provided through evenly distributed pockets of stainless steel pellets, quilted into place. The quilts are available in a choice of 4 colours or you can send your child's current dooner cover. These blankets are machine washable.

Available in weights 2.0kg, 2.5kg. In larger weights required eg: 3kg, 4kg, 5 kg or 6kg please request by email and a quote will be provided.

Heavy items postage additional fee $4.50 included in price.

Weighted lap bags are a very practical way to provide children with calming deep pressure sensory input in the classroom environment. They can be used to help children maintain their concentration during mat time as well as at the desk for written work. These lap bags are filled with wheat or stainless steel and are made in cordoroy and have segregated sections to ensure even weight distribution. The staineless steel lap bags can be washed in the washing machine.Please send us an accompanying email when ordering to advise us of your colour choice - black, burgundy, royal blue, dark green, yellow, dark grey, or rust. Please advise if Qld customers would prefer their lap bags to be non-cordoroy.

Heavy weight postage fee $4.50 included in prices below.

A great fine motor fiddly toy. Made of brightly coloured wooden blocks with elastic threading. Make all sorts of wonderful designs

Wikki Stix are a patented combination of yarn and non toxic wax formula. Soft and pliable they are easy for young fingers to twist, bend, shape and position. Easy to create letters, numbers, people, in fact anything! They stick to each other and almost any surface and can be used over and over again. Unlimited fun for hours.

Sometimes referred to as Wikki Sticks.

Comes in a variety of packs as described below. The PrimaryPack includes 48 wikki stix in bold primary colours and black and white.

Create a tropical fish mobile! Oceans of Fun includes: 48 Wikki Stix, 4 colorful fish to decorate, 2 dowels, 2 large ocean scenes to complete, a matching activity, a maze and interesting information on fish.

Dinosaur Fun has tracks and footprints to create, a maze, and a dinosaur scene.

There's a challenge to get the wurm through the apple which requires logic and problem solving skills. An additional bonus is this is an ideal fidget toy.