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> PRESS RELEASES
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| FEBRUARY 10, 2006 |
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Teaneck, New Jersey – Your two-year-old has just started enthusiastically talking, jumping and – yes –
saying “No!” Running and jumping are both good for their development, of course, but is there an important set of skills that
often gets overlooked by parents?
“Often parents overlook the need to help their children develop their fine motor skills,” says Dr. Andrea Pastorok, educational
psychologist with Kumon Math & Reading Centers. “At this stage, parents should be enjoying their toddlers, reading to them,
playing ball, and taking them to the park. These activities help to develop their child’s vocabulary, hand-eye coordination and
gross motor skills; but it is also important to take some time to paint and do crafts together to help develop their fine motor skills.”
Parents are beginning to recognize the importance of fine motor skill development - especially parents of young boys who
tend to have difficulty sitting still to color. Fine motor skills include precise thumb, finger, hand, and wrist movements that
are practiced through tracing, scribbling, finger painting, cutting and pasting.
Hanna Otero, editorial director for Flash Kids Publishing says, “My daughter has shown real improvement in her drawing and
coloring skills after using Let’s Color! (Kumon Publishing North America, Inc.; $5.95). “She feels a sense of accomplishment
being able to hold her crayon, draw and color the shapes and images she creates.”
Let’s Color! is one of four titles in Kumon Publishing’s First Steps Series that are arriving in bookstores now. This workbook
series is designed specifically to help children develop fine motor skills. By breaking more complicated skills into simple
and enjoyable art projects, these books help children learn how to master pencil and crayon control without becoming
frustrated. For instance, Let’s Color! begins by asking children to merely scribble. By the end of the book, the child can
choose multiple colors to complete a full page illustration.
The small size and simplicity of the First Step workbooks make them very child-friendly. “Gradually building your child’s
confidence is important,” says Dr. Pastorok. “These books do not push children, they prepare them – so that down the
road, they will be able to use a pencil with ease.”
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Let’s Color! / Let’s Sticker and Paste! / Let’s Fold! / Let’s Cut Paper!
5 3/4 x 8 1/4 in
40 full color pages
Pub date: 11/1/05
$5.95 / C$6.95
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