In children's art learning, many teachers in China have the problem of lack of creativity, that is means teachers help too much. When we provide a model drawing to a child in art teaching, we are giving the child easy answers, not helping him solve his own problems. As Jian, Zheng, and Zhang Qi (2016) mentioned this is one of the most difficult aspects of education because we take it for granted that we know what children are thinking, feeling, and knowing. The student's work is a template, and the works displayed are all in the teacher's style. No matter what picture children draw or how well they draw it, the picture is the most terrible incarnation of the child's mind, in the eyes of the child, the world is in their mind (Lin, S. F. . 2004). When participating in art teaching practice, only after mastering students' psychological states can art instruction participants encourage the development of inventive consciousness. Therefore, teachers should encourage children to paint in a creative manner while simultaneously providing appropriate instructional strategies and more perfect pictures.

 

I asked over 50 parents of children aged 5-12 living in Reading, UK to complete the questionnaire. I hope to use the questionnaire to understand their views on children's art extracurricular courses, as well as their views on Chinese and Western art education.

 

A variety of children's extra curricular art training courses have sprung up in China and online. Despite the breadth and richness of the curriculum, the children's work is surprisingly. Any type of knowledge or skill must be developed with an understanding of children's age characteristics and developmental patterns (Shuang, W., Lintao, W., & Qing, L. 2018). Encourage children's inventiveness and creativity while fostering their habit of observation in order to keep them interested in painting. Parents are also pleased with their children's growth because it allows them to help them better master painting techniques and raise the quality of their painting. Most Chinese parents send their kids to extra courses after school because they think they can't lose from the start, which is a real "spoon-feeding" education (Wang, X. N. , & Guckin, C. M. .2021). In recent years, due to the restrictions of the epidemic, online education has also developed rapidly, and art online education has also become popular. Through the questionnaire survey of local Chinese families in the UK, I found that when Chinese parents in the UK consider their children's art education, Although they do not reject online art education and believe that it is more free from geographical restrictions, there are also obvious drawbacks, such as lack of interactivity.

 

In addition, when it comes to art education, they are more inclined to combine Chinese training techniques with Western ideas to stimulate children's imagination. This kind of art education combining Chinese and Western is more acceptable for these Chinese parents who live in the UK. So they find it is difficult to get Art classes for their children in the UK. Their children are not leaning more skills when they take part in some local art events. At the same time, they do not like the traditional Chinese education, there are too many rules will restrict the personalized development of children.

 

In addition to having particular professional knowledge and skills, students in the field of art education must also possess certain personality traits and personal preferences. As a result, parents and instructors should respect children's preferences and prevent them from losing their individuality. Child-centered, conducive to learning, encourages children to think creatively, and has a favorable effect on children's development. Child Illustration state of art that is nearly natural one of the child's favorite activity is drawing. When kids take the initiative to sketch, it's usually about something that inspires, captures their attention, or moves them. They are energetic, imaginative, and full of curiosity. They are also interested in learning how to appreciate the originality, expressiveness, and inventiveness of children's art in art education. This is so because a child's mind is still open (Lillard, A. S. , Lerner MD, Hopkins, E. J. , Dore, R. A. , Smith, E. D. , & Palmquist, C. M. .2013). Instead of developing specific knowledge and abilities, education should aim to foster children's love of the arts, broaden their perceptual experiences, and so inspire their interest in and capacity for artistic expression. Since this superficial interest is frequently loaded with a lot of emotional hue, there is less natural maturity in these early photos since they are less influenced by the outer world.

 

One crucial topic is encouraging children's personality development. The development of artists with various styles and personalities is the ultimate purpose of art. High-rise structures have gradually replaced the former verdant mountains and rivers as modernization has advanced quickly, adversely hurting how creatively young children develop. Children frequently instinctively sketch what they are interested in, supposing it to be highly essential and ignoring or omitting other areas that they don't see from their drawings. For instance, when students sketch apples, teachers contrast the students' creations with actual fruit. They won't draw well if they aren't good at it. This approach to schooling is flawed. It is evident that a single knowledge structure, a single ability behavior, and a single teaching approach are ineffective. This necessitates that art teachers learn to listen to children's voices, comprehend children's emotions, and care about their psychological well-being. Teachers can take kids who spend a lot of time drawing indoors outside the classroom to sit on the lawn or in the garden and draw whatever piques their attention. Kids will be more interested if you do it.

 

The main objective of aesthetic education is to develop students' aesthetic awareness, creativity and aesthetic sensibilities. It is an important determinant of the quality of art education and an essential part of children's art teaching (Efland, A. D.1979). Child used his spontaneous painting activities to reflect his thoughts and feelings about reality and to express his observations and sentiments about life using his own unique visual symbols. The goal of art education for kids is to help them develop their intelligence and better foster their creative thinking. It goes beyond teaching them sketching abilities and techniques. Everything in the world will be seen by them as a good friend of language and cognition. Their work is full of childlike innocence, exaggeration and novelty. A good educational start should be engaging, daring and creative, colorful, and intimately tied to real-world experiences. It should never be rushed so that kids can memorize facts from books or prepare for tests in advance. Children have a very active imagination, and they often draw things that adults find difficult to comprehend and sometimes think it is absurd due to their clear abstraction and individuality (Gates, L.2016).

 

​According to Viktor Lowenfeld and W Lambert Brittain (1987) wrote in his book, "Art is all around us like oxygen, like soil, but we never realize it, which is why art is not only in museums." [8] Things found in galleries or in old towns like Florence and Rome. Art, however we define it, is in everything we do to please our senses." Age also affects the chance he wants to obtain from the heart in children's painting, which is simply for the purpose of expressing their own hobbies rather than for practical purposes. Instead of encouraging children to produce works of art that adhere to the ideal of beauty, expressive art instruction aims to strengthen the link between psychological quality and expression. To free the child is not to tie them up with a specific painting method, but must take all reasonable steps to make life more accessible so that students can touch, feel, and experience it. Only in this way can a child's imagination truly be unleashed, and the painting may truly be brimming with the child's enthusiasm and life. In these activities, teacher give kids a wide variety of painting supplies and inspire them to express their ideas artistically in their own unique ways. In order to help kids feel the joy of achievement and inspire their creativity, art teachers should be adept at identifying and praising the best aspects of their students' work.

 

When children start drawing, they must be thinking about "something," which to them usually means having a direct conversation with themselves and their experiences. When a child constantly tries to relate all of his experience-thinking, feeling, perceiving (seeing, touching, etc.) in the creative process, this behavior is bound to have an impact on his personality.

 

Children becoming more sensitive to what they come into contact with is an important feature of any creative activity. Moreover, not only is the child more sensitive to what he draws, but art education needs to cultivate sensitivity to the materials used. Experience had taught him that the thickness of a crayon line depended on the force used; Watercolors are easy to mix and create halo effects - all learned through trial and error and quickly applied to a child's own work.

 

In the traditional evaluation of children's aesthetic education in China, we pay too much attention to the skills of children's aesthetic education, that is, the final result of art, but neglect the cultivation of imagination, creativity and aesthetic comprehensive ability. Because art is not only a skill at hand, but also an artistic process that integrates observation, perception and imagination with one's own inner experience and reflection. Encourage teachers to investigate classroom instruction so that they can learn to not only recognize the positive aspects of children's words and works but also to comprehend their hearts. Additionally, educate teachers how to examine art using their individual experiences and thoughts. A comfortable setting for kids means putting their needs first. This means giving children the freedom to fully engage in artistic endeavors on the assumption that they have the talent. Encourage kids to proudly exhibit their life in their eyes and expect their hearts by allowing them to freely express their emotions, ideas, sentiments, and wishes using lines and colors.

 

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Reference

 

[1] Jian, Z., & Qi, Z. (2016). Heuristic teaching method and innovation of children's art education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, (1), 97-100.

 

[2] Lin, S. F. . (2004). Beauty is in the Eye of the Creator — A Psychological and Cross-Cultural Account of Children's Understanding of Pictorial Art.

 

[3] Shuang, W., Lintao, W., & Qing, L. (2018). Talking about the general situation and thinking of children's art education. In Education Teaching Forum (No. 1, pp. 219-221).

 

[4] Wang, X. N. , &  Guckin, C. M. . (2021). Educational Practitioners' Perspective on After-school Services' Future Development: A comparative study between China and Ireland.

 

[5] Lillard, A. S. , Lerner MD,  Hopkins, E. J. ,  Dore, R. A. ,  Smith, E. D. , &  Palmquist, C. M. . (2013). The impact of pretend play on children's development: a review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 1-34.

 

[6] Efland, A. D. (1979). Conceptions of teaching in art education. Art Education, 32(4), 21-35.

 

[7] Gates, L. (2016). Rethinking art education practice one choice at a time. Art Education, 69(2), 14-19.

 

[8] Viktor Lowenfeld and W Lambert Brittain (1987). Creative and mental growth. New York, N.Y.: Collier Books.