The educational benefits of coloring often at a young age are often not realized by many adults and it definitely is not something that kids even realize happens. First off, learning to manipulate a crayon is very similar to any other writing tool, like a pencil or pen. This means that it heightens their fine motor skills and helps them improve their penmanship. This also results in an increased ability to coordinate your hands and eyes. When children start working on a coloring book, they become more relaxed and it seems to teach them patience. Just ask any teacher how quite it is in their classroom when their kids are deep into a coloring activity. Understanding where color belongs and does not helps students understand the concept of boundaries and spatial awareness that are much more difficult to express through writing letters. This helps them when writing just about anything that is slightly extended. This level of writing endurance will start to come out when they start writing paragraphs, but this is where it all starts.
It is often funny to me that most students don't know or have never seen a See Saw in their life. Those ever dangerous play equipment pieces are long history in many places. The stuff our parents let us play with. For extra fun, have your students add their own background details, other animals, or more to the given pictures to expand the story!