You'll notice that the activities I share have a strong fine motor skills element, while also promoting learning of more academic type skills. When fine motor skills are strong and well-developed it leads to increased confidence and a willingness for children to try new tasks that they might not otherwise have been willing to tackle. With each small victory their confidence builds, which leads to even more skills being mastered. Increased independence is the ultimate result.
I believe in a balanced approach between learning through free play and more structured activities. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. With this strategy, preschoolers learn to problem solve on their own while also being exposed to classroom type skills to begin the challenge of getting ready for kindergarten.