Why is Coloring Shapes with Numbers Important?

Meet Lihle Wich, colorist extraordinaire at Sophie’s Creche. He is nearly five years old. His name means beauty or greatness. He’s very focused on coloring within the lines of his shapes and getting the numbers correct.

When preschoolers learn to color shapes and recognize numbers, they are building critical physical and cognitive skills. Coloring develops fine motor skills. The children learn to hold crayons and control writing tools with their hand muscles by developing their grip strength. Hand and eye coordination from these exercises are critical also for writing and playing sports. Number and shape recognition develops math skills which lead to the ability to identify and categorize items.