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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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Glue gun
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One of the greatest inventions ever made and you can buy one for only £10!
No home is complete without a glue gun. Yes it sounds like a bold statement. You may also think it a bit excessive of me to claim that it is one of the best inventions of the 20th century, if not of all time. I know that the best invention was the printing press, but the glue gun has the power to unlock your children's imagination and allow you and them to make things out of old junk as quickly as you want. Who knows how many future inventors, entrepreneurs, and professors were set on the road to greatness by something as humble as the glue gun.
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What is it?? The glue gun is a device for melting a thermoplastic resin glue (usually in the form of a long milky coloured stick, about 10mm in diameter). The glue is extremely tough when set and because it hardens typically in less than a minute, it is perfect for instantaneous, high performance sticking when making things. In fact I would say that if you have a glue gun, permanent marker and some old discarded packaging, you have almost everything you need to start making something good right away.
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There are both low and high temperature versions, but as even the low temperature ones can still reach 100ºC and cause nasty burns, care should be taken when using either type of glue gun, and children should be supervised at all times when using them, even if they have used them before.
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The great thing about a glue gun, from our point of view, when making things, is that it will stick almost anything to anything and can even be used to back fill cracks and gaps. In the Medallion Project (in making from Junk), the glue gun glue is used to back fill a tin foil rubbing, to great effect.
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I recommend that you get an extra packet of sticks when you buy your glue gun as they can get used up quite quickly.
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A glue gun will only cost about £10 ($10-$15) and can be bought on-line or in any DIY or hardware store. Once you have it, you’ll find that its usefulness extends far beyond Making Projects, into all manner of fixing things round the home.
Safety first
 I know I keep saying it, but...Glue guns get very hot and the melted glue is not only very hot but also very sticky. Children should not be allowed to use a glue gun unsupervised and if they are using it under supervision they need to be shown which bits get hot and learn how to use the glue without getting the hot melt glue on their fingers. If a burn occurs get the glue off the finger as quickly as possible and run under cold water for at least five minutes. Turn your glue gun off after using it and put it to the back of the work surface out of reach, while it cools down. Make sure the wire isn’t trailing anywhere that might get tripped over.
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Funky pompoms
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 Dadcando has some truly amazing funky pompom projects, and making a pompom couldn't be easier or more instantly rewarding. You don't even have to have wool, you can make a pompom from any lightweight plastic bag, bin-liner or sandwich bag.
This tiny little pompom was made from a transparent blue plastic sandwich bag. Perfect for making little pompom creatures to decorate the top of your pens and pencils.
All you need is a piece of cardboard, which you cut into two same sized rings.
You bundle up some wool into 2m lengths and thread them through the rings about 8 at a time (or a plastic bag).
Keep threading the wool through the ring until you can't fit any more through.
Push the tip of a pair of scissors into the wool and between the discs inside and cut round the rim.
Tie a few lengths of wool round the pompom bundle between the cardboard discs and then remove the discs by slipping them off the wool or cutting them.
 That's it. It couldn't be much simpler, but it is only the start. Both boys and girls love making pompoms and dadcando's projects have easy to follow instructions and the beautifully designed printed image patterns will make sure that your pompom looks fabulous as well as being something really wacky and memorable, and they’re all so quick and easy to do.
So, beg or borrow a ball of wool off someone to get you going, or visit your local fabric shop and buy a ball or two. There are some crazy wools out there, have a look at the wonderful pompom William designed in Your Models, using a fun multicoloured wool. I guarantee once you start making pompoms with your kids, they won't want to stop.
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