South China Morning Post – Kris Gienger
“My son’s Year One teacher lets them do a lot of colouring and paper crafts with staplers. I thought this was preschool work. He seems to enjoy it but it is not really proper education, is it? [Answer] In early primary a lot of the more “academic” skills you might hope to see are still a little ahead of many student’s abilities. Instead children are often asked to tear up strips of paper, scrunch, staple or stuff them into a shape, colour, choose items for a task, follow instructions and describe to another child what to do…Simple paper cutting and colouring serve to help develop a child’s motor skills and prepare them for more complex tasks, such as correctly holding a pen for writing…All of this is developing your child’s abilities to think, observe and physically manipulate. These skills will be so important in many academic areas, a good foundation is essential.”(more)