I think the hardest and most helpless thing in the world is that you don't know what children are thinking, especially children before the age of three or five, they don't know how to express themselves, but they also have their own little secrets, how to crack their spiritual code?
Not long ago, I saw a book "Understand the child's painting to understand the child's heart", I think the title is very interesting, after reading it, I found that the child's painting is the best teaching material for you to learn "mind reading". The author of this book is Brigitte ▪ Lang Riwen of France, translated by Cao Yang, published by China Light Industry Press.
You say that children know something, but they just take a pen and play with it. Painting is human instinct, before there is no language and writing, human beings use painting to record life, use symbols to communicate and express.
In the mainland, the baby's first birthday has the custom of "grasping the week", hoping that the baby will grow up healthily and grow up, which is an activity with great cultural connotation, which originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and held a ceremony to predict the future and temperament of the child at the age of one. You can prepare books, money, pen and ink, seals, abacuses, jewelry, scissors, onions, toys, etc. for children to grab, which is fun and wish.
You can also prepare a variety of brushes for your child to choose from: pencils with thin heads, watercolor pens with medium heads, crayons with thick heads, and even brushes; and place various sizes of drawing paper: small, medium, and large. Even the color pen can choose bright colors and dull colors, like catching weeks, let the children choose themselves.
Selection of painting utensils, large beads and small beads falling on the jade plate
Different choices of materials and sizes may indicate different characteristics of children. On a small piece of paper, Royke drew a family portrait with a thin pencil. Mom felt very strange when she saw the picture: on the small drawing paper, in the lower left corner, there was a family of four, next to Mom and Dad was the brother, and Royk was on the outermost edge, a long distance from the other three people, and all four people were drawn very small.
Why is that? It turned out that Royke had bright reddish-brown hair, and when he was a child, he was always the focus of everyone's attention. But since he went to school, the situation has changed, his classmates always laugh at his hair, he becomes less confident, no longer wants to be the focus of everyone, trying to make himself small in the painting, not to let people perceive his presence.
The very young child chooses a thin pen head at the beginning, indicating that he is good at thinking and tends to do rational work when he grows up; the child who chooses a thick pen head likes to be hands-on and tends to be practical.
The child who likes small size drawing paper has a more introverted personality and lacks self-confidence, but if he chooses small drawing paper but draws it full, it exposes the aggressiveness in his personality. Children who like medium-sized drawing paper have a soft personality, are adaptable, and can find their own positioning. Children who like large size drawing paper have a cheerful personality, are full of confidence, and like to feel surrounded by people.
Children who like to use strong colors show that he is passionate but irritable; children who like gloomy colors indicate that he is implicitly anxious; children who like multiple colors superimposed, cheerful and optimistic, but easy to be impetuous; children who only use one or two colors are calm and humble and do not like challenges. There are also those who like to use different graphics, which also show that children have different characteristics.
You see, through the child's choice of brushes, paper, colors, etc., you can read so much information in the child's heart, which is really a wonderful opportunity. It is even more interesting to look at the children's drawings.
Painting is the voice of the heart, and at this time silence is better than sound
Let the child draw his home with the objects of his choice, see who he is closer to, and see who is not pleasing to the eye. Don't judge your child's paintings, don't speculate about who the characters he is painting, your task is to make a record and let the children tell them who they are drawing and what they are drawing.
Pay attention to the position of the characters, the size of the posture, and the relationship between the characters can be expressed by distance, and see who is closest to whom the child is the farthest away, who is not painted with others, and who does not appear on the screen. When children speak, parents should show great patience, understand their inner feelings, listen reactively, and give comfort and understanding in a timely manner.
Five-year-old Erois drew his mother and himself large and embraced together, and his father and sister drew very small and were a long distance between them. In fact, it was Erois who had a deep attachment to his mother, and this feeling occupied almost his entire world, so much so that he ignored the existence of his father and sister.
But the four people are hand-held together, that is to say, there is a connection point between the characters in the painting, no matter which part of the connection, it shows that Erois believes that the family loves each other, and there is an invisible line that conveys the love and care between them. Father and sister should communicate more with Erois so that he can feel more love.
You see, the child's favorite person who dominates at home is often painted very large, and the person who does not matter in the child's heart is painted very small, and as for the person the child does not want to see, it is either painted far away, or it is not drawn at all, which is the true portrayal of the child's heart.
If there are really some changes in the family, you can also encourage the child to pick up the paintbrush and vent his emotions, whether it is pain and anger or depression, you can get a good release through painting, show his attitude, and show his heart knot. Through the picture, we interpret the child's inner troubles and confusions and help him grow up physically and mentally.
Interpret the picture, have a sharp mind
If multiple elements are repeated in multiple paintings of the child, we should pay more attention to this situation from the child's sense of self-identity, such as the child draws a house, the parents are full of praise, in order to get affirmation again, he will spend the house again and again, he thinks: "Mom likes the house I painted, Mom thinks I'm great, Mom loves me." 〝
Another reason is that the child has just learned to draw a certain shape or object, and is excited and proud of it, for example, he has just learned to draw a Christmas tree, and he will draw many times. It is to find affirmation and praise, to show the newly learned painting skills, to practice continuously to master, just learned the painting skills.
One educator said that children need to be motivated, just as plants need to be watered, without which children cannot survive, but motivating children requires strategies and skills. If you can find the child's 10 advantages, the parents are excellent; if you can find the child's 5 advantages, the parents are qualified; if the parents can't find the child's advantages, such parents are unqualified.
The child's painting can be called an independent and complete story with special meaning, the ideal situation is to let the child draw while telling, so that the child can restore the picture content without external interference, generally speaking, the situation, place, background, and character attitude of the story are clear at a glance.
For example, five-year-old Erica painted a painting of the castle on the right with windows but no doors, and her mother was on a business trip, making her very insecure. On the left was the wind and rain, she said, and the storm was very big, and the wind was blowing, as if everything was flying... These emotions Erica can't express in words, but she can express her heart with a paintbrush.
Only when parents are calm, children will not resist, can they say their true thoughts, and do not simply talk about big reasons. Only by learning to listen to and identify with children's feelings can parents know more about their children and correct and guide their children's incorrect thoughts and practices in a timely manner.
Parents can buy meaningful books for their children, and through specific stories, guide their children to follow the protagonist and overcome the difficulties in life. Children in the formative stage, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is not very strong, but they have their own unique way of thinking, communication can not only allow parents to enter the child's heart, but also enable parents to help children improve their ability to understand the problem.
The reason why parents want to interpret their children's paintings is to understand him and help him grow up healthy and strong. Also in order to urge themselves to create a good family environment for their children, accompany their children to understand their true selves, and enable parents and children to grow together.
Nietzsche said that the person who really lives is up to him to choose how to experience his own life, rather than being experienced by life like a puppet. Children are not marionettes in our hands, mutual understanding will create a beautiful realm! The book "Reading children's paintings and understanding children's hearts" makes me more confident in understanding children.