Expert Articles Resource

The real Tinkerbell revealed

By Article Expert on Nov. 16, 2009.

Many believe that Tinkerbell – the fairy who appears in the 1953 Disney’ Peter Pan movie - is a creation of The Walt Disney Company. Not so. Tinkerbell is a character that was created almost half a century before the Peter Pan movie was released.

Tinkerbell, whose name is often abbreviated to Tink, is a fictional character that first appeared in a 1904 play by J M Barrie and later in a novel he wrote entitled Peter and Wendy that was published in 1911.

Tinkerbell was described by J M Barrie as a fairy who mended kettles and metal pots and pans just like an actual tinker would. Her dialogue in the play and also later in the novel is made up of the sounds of a tinkling bell, which is understandable only to those familiar with the language of the fairi. Though sometimes ill-tempered and vindictive (for example she coaxes the Lost Boys to shoot arrows at Wendy), at other times she is helpful and kind to Peter. The extremes in her personality are explained by J M Barrie in the story as being due to the fact that her small fairy size prevents her from holding more than one feeling at a time, so when she is angry she has no counterbalance such as compassion or kindness.

Originally, Tinkerbell was only a minor / supporting character and was described by J M Barrie as “a common fairy”, however - following her success in Disney’s Peter Pan when children the world over fell in love with her animated incarnation, Tinkerbell has become a widely recognized as the unofficial mascot of The Walt Disney Company and recently as the star of its Disney Fairies media franchise including the direct-to-DVD film Tinker Bell.

Tinker Bell was originally part of the Disney Princess franchise but she was removed from this in 2005 to take her place as the central character of the new Disney Fairies franchise. At Disneyland, a Pixie Hollow meet-and-greet area opened in 2008, where guests are able to interact with Tinker Bell and her companions.

Tinkerbell has fans the world over and many websites are dedicated to this delicate yet mischeivous fairy. For example at sites like Fairy Coloring Pages you’ll find the best

Interestingly, the copyright to the Tinkerbell character is owned by the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England. A bronze statue of Tinkerbell appears at the hospital’s entrance to commemorate the fact that the Scottish born J M Barrie bequeathed the copyright to the character to the children’s hospital upon his death in 1937.

Television decisions

By Article Expert on Nov. 16, 2009.

The average child spends 900 hours in school per year and nearly 1,023 hours in front of a television. In fact, most children plug into the varied world of television way before they even enter school and when they do, statistics show that 70% of child-care centers use television during a typical day.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children watch around four hours of television a day. The AAP guidelines however, state that children older than 2 should watch no more than one to two hours a day of quality programming. Further, children under age 2 should have no ‘screen time’ whatsoever (that’s no TV, DVDs, computers or video games) at all. During the first 2 years of life, a critical time for brain development, television can very much get in the way of exploring, learning and spending time interacting and playing with parents and others, which helps the young develop the skills they need to grow cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally.

While there are many entertaining and educational experiences for children to have on ‘screens’, it is important to keep in mind what children need at different ages for their healthy development. So, how much time is okay?

• Children under 2 years - very little time, preferably none.
• Preschoolers - an hour of age-appropriate programmes a day is plenty.
• Children 5 to 8 years - limit to an hour a day maximum.
• Children over 8 years - maximum an hour and a half to two hours a day is acceptable.

To follow these guidelines means that your children have the time and opportunity to build strong bonds with real and caring people, have time for active physical play and ‘hands-on’ activities of all kinds.

Therefore, plan what you watch and limit your child to the amount watched each day. Decide together which programs will be watched and only have ‘the box’ on then, rather than just on all the time. This teaches children to think, to plan, to make choices and allows plenty of time for them to do other things important for their development.

Other issues to be aware of or implement include:

• Remember to lead by example - your child’s viewing habits may be copied from yours.
• Television viewing for a very young child should always take place in your company.
• Record programs so they can be played at a time that suits your family.
• Encourage children to talk about how they feel after watching a program.
• Play ‘spot the gimmicks and tricks’ when watching commercials.
• Decide on bedtime based on your child’s age, and not on the time a certain programme ends.
• Children need to wind down between television and sleep, so turn the volume down or off before bedtime.
• Make television one of many activities your children do – so organise outings, play-dates and activities for them that don’t involve ‘screens’. Fun arts and crafts such as coloring and drawing are always well received – especially if you join in – and especially if you choose coloring pages of a favourite character – so for example at  sites like Spongebob Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Spongebob colouring pictures

Television has its advantages.   It can be educational and entertaining. It can open up new worlds for kids, giving them the opportunity to virtually travel the globe and learn about different cultures.However, many down-sides also exist; many children are exposed to violence, advertising and adult material that is not age appropriate.

Like maintaining a balanced diet or regular bedtime, establishing healthy television habits is one of the most important things you can do for your family.

Kids’ arts and craft recipes!

By Article Expert on Nov. 15, 2009.

Here are a dozen play-time ‘recipes’ to help keep your children entertained during the school holidays. Here you can learn how to make homemade goop, papier mâché, cinnamon ornaments, soap crayons and much more besides. When the kids say, “I’m bored!”, print off this article and stick it to your fridge – it will be one of your best weapons against the ‘boredom’ gremlins!

Washable window paints
A selection of tempera paints (powdered or premixed)
Clear dishwashing liquid
Mix powdered paints with dishwashing liquid until they resemble house paint. Line the window sashes with masking tape and spread newspaper under the window area to protect flooring. To erase paint or touch up mistakes just wipe paint away with a dry paper towel.

Home-made coloring books

Go online and download a dozen or so coloring book pages and collate them into a coloring book. Put this aside for rainy days or for long car/train/plane journeys. Little boys love images of cars and trucks while little girls prefer coloring book pictures of fairytales and princesses. At sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find many free Pokemon printables

Cinnamon ornaments
3/4-1 cup applesauce
1 (4.12-oz.) bottle of ground cinnamon
Mix the apple sauce with the cinnamon to form a firm / stiff dough. Roll out to 5mm thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and make hole for ribbon using the end of a drinking straw. Carefully put aside to dry for several days - turning occasionally. This recipe makes 12 sweet smelling ornaments/drawer scenters.

Goop

2 packets of cornflour
2 cups of water
Several drops of food colouring

Place newspaper or plastic sheets on your work surface. Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl. Children love goop’s squeezy and squishy consistency. You can also use coloured or black paper to make goop paintings if you wish. To remove goop from carpets, allow it to dry, then brush vigorously or vacuum. The great thing about goop is that it may be re-used after it has dried out. Crumble it to a powder then restore it to the original consistency by adding water a tablespoonful at a time.

Funny putty
2 tablespoons of white glue
1 tablespoon of liquid starch
Food colouring
Mix glue together with the desired food colour. Pour starch over top. Swish so that all the glue is covered. Let set 5 minutes. Squeeze off extra starch and knead until mixed.

Bubbles
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of glycerine
2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap
Mix water, glycerine and soap. Pour in sugar. Add food coloring if you’d like.

Papier mâché

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 inch strips of newspaper
Balloon/s

In a large bowl, mix flour and water – add more flour is mixture is too sloppy (dripping). Place newspaper strips into mixture, then smooth onto blown up balloon. Cover balloon completely twice, letting dry in between layers. Do not cover the balloon’s knot. Dry in a warm place for 2-3 days then hold the knot and pop the balloon with a pin. Paint, glitter and decorate the balloon as is or cut in half so you have a bowl/hat shape to embellish.

Modelling/play dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
water
food colouring

Mix the ingredients and knead to a dough consistency. To speed up the drying process, place the dough artwork in the oven on a low heat.

Soap crayons

1 3/4 cups of soap flakes

50 drops food colouring
1/4 cup water

Mix water and soap flakes together. Add food colouring and put mixture into an ice cube tray. When hardened, pop the ‘ice cubes’ out. These soap crayons are fun to write with on the tub and tiles when bathing. If grouting stains, spray with a weak solution of bleach.

Sand dye

Fine sand

Water

Food colouring

Paper cups

Plastic spoons

Fill paper cups half full with sand. Next, add water to cups to completely cover sand. Add food colouring to get the desired colour. Stir with plastic spoon and let set for 15 minutes. Pour off the water, spoon sand onto paper towels and spread the sand out to dry. Use sand to make sand - art - pictures (spread glue on paper and sprinkle sand on top) or to fill pretty bottles in layers.

Cornstarch Art/Finger-paint

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

2 drops of dishwashing liquid

1 cup boiling water

Food colouring

Combine cornstarch and cold water - stir until smooth. Add dishwashing liquid. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and stir well until the mixture thickens. Add food colouring and let cool. Use as you would finger paint.

Puffy Paint

Flour

Salt

Water

Tempera paint

Mix equal parts of flour, salt and water in a bowl. Add just a small amount of tempera paint to the mixture and pour into a small plastic squeezy bottle. Repeat this over and over to make as many colours as you wish. Squeeze onto heavy paper or cardboard to make designs. Mixture will harden into puffy shapes.

Colourful Salt

1/2 cup salt

5 to 6 drops of food colouring

Add food colouring to salt. Stir well. Cook in the microwave for around 1-2 minutes or spread on waxed paper and let the salt air dry. Store in an airtight container and use as you would glitter.