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Cautionary Tales For Children
Wonderful witty poems great for reading to your children. The stories and rhymes will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
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Research has shown how important YOU are to your children and how as a dad the things you do, and keep on doing, really count, whether you live with them, or you are a single dad and are only able see them once a month, once a week or more, what you do really matters. This site is dedicated to all dads but will be of special relevance to the single dad. Remember, you are half the reason your children exist and they need you whether you live with them or not. As their dad, you have what it takes to make their lives successful and fulfilling no matter how often you see them. This site is about all the positive things that we as parents have to offer our children.
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Prince Caspian's Sword
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Learn a little about casting by making this sword and your own little piece of the magical world of Narnia.
With the film release of Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, the Magical kingdom of Narnia comes back to our screens. As one of the founding fathers of children's magical fantasy, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (written in the 1940s and 1950s) have stood the test of time. The books might be a bit slow these days, but if you like magical fantasy battles and journeys of discovery through breathtaking scenery, then the films are as good as anything Mr. Potter and his gang can muster. In fact as far as Narnia Chronicles go, I'd say that Prince Caspian is probably better than the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the book, Prince Caspian starts out with one sword (a simple one made by the Telmarines) but has another, more beautiful one made for him by Narnia's finest swordsmiths and craftsmen when he joins their forces to help lead their rebellion. The sword you can make here is a cross between the two. Part of the fun of making this sword is knowing that you are making it in a very similar way to how real swords are made: Casting the blade, attaching the handle, wrapping the handle and then fitting the cross guard, before finally finishing, polishing and adorning with jewels... just like an ancient craftsman.
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You will be casting the sword using hot melt glue, which is a soft re-meltable plastic resin. Of course, you could use any resin, but hot melt (glue gun glue) is readily available and it has a soft finish, so this sword won't really be able to hurt anyone. The glue is strengthened by the use of a metal core in the form of a bent coat hanger.
. . . For mostly every kid, the fact that this sword feels heavy, is balanced and feels good in the hand, will be what makes this sword something to enjoy and be proud of. If my nine year old is anything to go by, making this sword will elevate you to almost mystical, wizard sword maker status, imbued with great and hitherto unknown powers of the "dad".
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You won't need anything very special to make it with either. All you need is a wire coat hanger, some strong tin foil, a small piece of hosepipe tube, a small cupboard doorknob, about three metres of electrical wiring cable, two old toothbrushes, some glue gun glue and a lick of gold or silver paint... got all that? No?, well it shouldn't take long to get it. And, if you don't have the toothbrushes? Well buy your kids some new ones and then use the old ones... win win, two presents (new toothbrush and a sword) for the price of one, now how cool is that?
The download comes in both US Letter size and A4. This download gives you step by step instructions and everything you need to make the Prince Caspian's Sword.
 
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Posted by sjsquirrel - Inspired by the Prince Caspian sword project, and by a unique find we made for the handle, my son and I this simple sword.
More in the next picture....
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Wizardry and Magic
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Harry Potter is all done. Of course there are rumours of an eighth book and the fact that we still have two films to go (as the last film will be split into two). It's going to be a long summer, but November will come round soon enough and the bitter sweet joy of seeing another HP film will be tempered by the fact that there is definitely only one more after that. Nevertheless, while you wait, there’s always more than enough magic in the air for you to recreate events at Hogwarts, the Burrow or the Ministry of Magic, by making your own models of Hogwarts wizarding paraphernalia.
Homemade wizard’s wands, Golden Snitches, or beautiful writing quills and loads of other Potteresk things are all here, ready for you to download on dadcando.
 Even if you’re just a muggle and have had enough of Harry Potter, there are plenty of other magical fantasy stories to keep you interested in the Magical Art of Making. All the Chronicles of Narnia are all being turned into films, as are the stories of Lyra in the books of His Dark Materials trilogy. Whenever we see interesting things in these films and stories, we will bring you them as best magical fantasy craft projects, so that you can turn your hand to making magic, and conjuring up some really cool stuff to amaze your friends.
 Now you can make your very own Victorian Domed glass display case, from a 2 litre soda bottle, to display all your favourite projects and artifacts really beautifully. With our simple instructions, the results of just an afternoon's making will be really cool, good enough to be film props in fact, and better than anything you can buy, because you made it yourself.
Or why not make a beautiful writing quill from either a hippogryph, phoenix or snowy owl feather . And because no quill would be complete without its own ink pot, there are also some easy to follow instructions and printables, for making the most fantastical, magical Ink-pots.
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