COLORING

All three of my kids mastered the skill of coloring within the lines by 1st grade. They are now in grades 4, 6 and 8 and I am amazed that all three of my kids continue to come home with homework that requires more time coloring than doing the actual pencil and paper task. Ridiculous! Lil' Lefty spent 10 minutes on a french writing assignment and over and hour drawing and coloring the 5 illustrations for the assignment. Is drawing and coloring really going to help her ace french as a second language?