Skill Builder Program

An inclusive program series that supports the mental, social, emotional, and physical development of children and youth:

  • help build confidence and foster a sense of belonging
  • offer extra time to learn and develop skills in a small group setting
  • introduce support strategies based on individual needs and abilities

Trico Centre’s Skill Builder programs are designed to enhance essential life skills for children through engaging and interactive activities. The Fine Motor Skill Development program (4-6 yrs) focuses on improving hand strength and dexterity, aiding children with everyday tasks like buttoning, drawing, and tying shoelaces. Direction Detectives (6-8 yrs) teaches active listening and following directions using tools like checklists and timers. Anxiety Explorers (6-9 yrs) helps children understand anxiety, identify triggers, and develop coping strategies. Confidence Quest (6-9 yrs) boosts self-esteem through activities promoting positive self-talk and resilience. Friendship Foundations (6-8 yrs) emphasizes building and maintaining friendships with skills in communication, empathy, and problem-solving.

Explore our engaging non-competitive sports programs designed for children to learn and grow in a supportive environment. Our Skill Builder courses, including FitQuest, Badminton Basics, Rally Readiness, Non-Competitive Basketball, Non-Competitive Soccer, Non-Competitive Volleyball, and Tri-Sport, focus on developing skills, building confidence, and promoting physical fitness through fun and interactive activities. These programs are perfect for beginners and those with limited experience, ensuring every child can have fun while improving their abilities. Join us for an exciting journey where children can burn off energy, learn new sports, and make new friends in a non-competitive setting.

These programs foster confidence, independence, and social skills, helping children thrive in their daily lives.

We offer inclusive programming. If your child would benefit from one-on-one support and/or is eligible for aide support (i.e. FSCD), we ask caregivers to make arrangements and notify our Programs Director (jhoward@tricocentre.ca in advance.

 


Skill Builder Programs

Skill Builder: Fine Motor Skill Development (4-6 yrs)

This targeted program helps build confidence and independence! Giving children extra time to practice using small muscles in their hands, wrists, and fingers. Fine motor practice helps with buttoning, zippering, drawing, coloring, tying shoelaces, brushing, and flossing teeth. Children will play with fine motor manipulatives and practice hand strengthening exercises.

Skill Builder: Direction Detectives (6-8 yrs)

In a small group setting, this program teaches active listening skills and effective strategies to follow directions. Through engaging discussion and activities, we will explore helpful strategies such as checklists, visuals, timers, social stories, task breakdowns, and ways to eliminate distractions.

Skill Builder: Direction Detectives (9-12 yrs)

In a small group setting, this program teaches active listening skills and effective strategies to follow directions. Through engaging discussion and activities, we will explore helpful strategies such as checklists, visuals, timers, social stories, task breakdowns, and ways to eliminate distractions.

Skill Builder: Brick Builder (7-10 yrs)

Explore boundless creativity and fun in our brick builder program! Young builders construct imaginative worlds brick by brick, fostering teamwork and problem solving along the way. Children enhance fine motor skills as they manipulate small pieces and assemble detailed structures.

Skill Builder: Anxiety Explorers (6-9 yrs)

This engaging and interactive program fosters resilience, promotes self-care, and empowers young people to navigate anxiety with confidence. In a small group setting, learn about anxiety symptoms, understand triggers, and explore effective coping strategies.

Skill Builder: Anxiety Explorers (9-12 yrs)

This engaging and interactive program fosters resilience, promotes self-care, and empowers young people to navigate anxiety with confidence. In a small group setting, learn about anxiety symptoms, understand triggers, and explore effective coping strategies.

Skill Builder: Confidence Quest (6-9 yrs)

“Confidence Quest” is a fun and interactive program that helps kids boost their self-esteem and build confidence. Through engaging activities and games, children will learn valuable skills such as positive self-talk, embracing their unique qualities, and overcoming challenges with courage. Join us on this exciting journey of self-discovery and empowerment, where every child becomes a confident hero in their own story.

Skill Builder: Confidence Quest (9-12 yrs)

“Confidence Quest” is a fun and interactive program that helps kids boost their self-esteem and build confidence. Through engaging activities and games, children will learn valuable skills such as positive self-talk, embracing their unique qualities, and overcoming challenges with courage. Join us on this exciting journey of self-discovery and empowerment, where every child becomes a confident hero in their own story.

Skill Builder: Wellness Warriors (6-8yrs)

A safe welcoming space for children to learn about feelings, body clues, and ways to calm when having big feelings. Tools and strategies will be introduced as each child builds their own personalized ‘calm-down kit’.

Skill Builder: Wellness Warriors (9-12yrs)

A safe welcoming space for children to learn about feelings, body clues, and ways to calm when having big feelings. Tools and strategies will be introduced as each child builds their own personalized ‘calm-down kit’.

Skill Builder: Friendship Foundations (6-8 yrs)

Learn how to build and maintain friendships through engaging activities, games, and discussions. We’ll explore essential skills such as active listening, effective communication, understanding social cues, empathy, problem solving strategies, emotional regulation, co-operation, sharing and taking turns.

Skill Builder: Friendship Foundations (6-9 yrs)

Learn how to build and maintain friendships through engaging activities, games, and discussions. We’ll explore essential skills such as active listening, effective communication, understanding social cues, empathy, problem solving strategies, emotional regulation, co-operation, sharing and taking turns.

Skill Builder: Friendship Foundations (9-12 yrs)

Learn how to build and maintain friendships through engaging activities, games, and discussions. We’ll explore essential skills such as active listening, effective communication, understanding social cues, empathy, problem solving strategies, emotional regulation, co-operation, sharing and taking turns.

Non-Competitive Sports/Fitness

Skill Builder: FitQuest (6-9 yrs)

Have fun burning off extra energy while developing your skills and building confidence! Rotate through fun fitness stations and challenging obstacle courses in a supportive and non-competitive environment.

Skill Builder: FitQuest (9-14 yrs)

Have fun burning off extra energy while developing your skills and building confidence! Rotate through fun fitness stations and challenging obstacle courses in a supportive and non-competitive environment.

*NEW*

Skill Builder: Badminton / Rally Readiness (9-14 yrs)

Master fundamental skills such as proper grip, footwork, and various strokes, including serves and net play. Each session combines skill-building drills with fun games to enhance physical fitness, coordination, and game strategy.

Skill Builder: Badminton Basics (9-14 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing badminton. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Non-Competitive Basketball (6-8 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing basketball. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Non-Competitive Basketball (9-14 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing basketball. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Non-Competitive Soccer (6-8 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing soccer. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Non-Competitive Volleyball (6-8 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing volleyball. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Non-Competitive Volleyball (9-14 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who are new to the sport or have limited experience playing volleyball! Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence.

Skill Builder: Tri-Sport (6-8 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who would like to explore 3 sports – basketball, soccer, and badminton. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

Skill Builder: Tri-Sport (9-14 yrs)

Interactive games and activities help children learn skills in a supportive and non-competitive environment. This program is perfect for those who would like to explore 3 sports – basketball, soccer, and badminton. Have fun while developing skills and improving confidence!

I am so glad that I signed Ryker up for the Executive Functioning Skillbuilder Program at the Trico Centre. I admit that I was skeptical at first.  My son was born prematurely and has a number of delays as a result.  At age 6, we are also dealing with a new diagnosis of severe ADHD.

When I stumbled upon the Skillbuilder programs, I was intrigued.  However, I worried that Ryker wouldn’t get much out of them.  First off, I wondered how they could make executive functioning skillbuilding fun and engaging.  Moreover, with Ryker’s delays and him being at the young end of the 6-9 year old class, I worried that he would be unable to participate fully.  Ryker has never been able to participate in formal programs or class settings…

His first class blew me away!  My husband and I sat outside the class waiting for Ryker to escape (which is his usual MO).  It didn’t happen.  Not only that, we peeked in and he was SITTING CALMLY, and actually PARTICIPATING in the activities!  This may sound unimpressive to most parents, but for the parents of a kiddo with severe executive processing issues, this was astounding.  I have literally never seen him so engaged in any formalized activity.

The teacher is phenomenal.  She truly understands neurodivergence and how to adapt programming to suit the neurodiverse brain.   Each kid gets exactly what he or she needs.

The activities they do have a clear connection to lifelong skills that can help kids navigate life with executive functioning differences.  Executive functioning is a learned skill, just like any other.  Some kiddos seem to be naturally programmed to learn those skills easily while others need to work harder.  This program gives kids the tools to succeed.

I took the opportunity to sit in on a class one time when Ryker was having a particularly dysregulated day and even I felt like I had learned new skills.  I think the Skillbuilder programs are likely to pique the interest of parents with neurodiverse children, but really every parent of neurotypical children should sign their kids up too.  We love to complain that the education system fails to teach many of the “soft skills” needed to be a high-achiever, but Trico is finally doing it!

I am excited to sign Ryker up for more Skillbuilder programs in the future.

– Christine