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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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Design an Antique Map
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Chart your very own undiscovered country by making this beautiful Antique Map
 hile working late in the map room doing some research for my next campaign, I chanced to come across an old map that I had not seen before. I would have dismissed it immediately if I had not recognised my father’s own handwriting. Accompanying the map were a few journal pages, amongst which was this intriguing passage...
"Tis curious the tricks that may be played upon the mind by a creaking ship, a lack of sleep and an absence of sufficient sustenance; but I am certain that the lights I saw that night were no illusion.
. . .
I am a certified insomniac and to alleviate the boredom of the long nights below decks, I always agree to take the Middle Watch; it whiles away the witching hours, and in any case I believe it affords me a certain credibility with the rank and file. Although late in the year, the night had been warm and up until that point uneventful, given as it was, to a calm sea and a soft steady wind. Nevertheless, we were, as we had been for two weeks past, still in the grip of a powerful current, that by the quartermaster’s reckoning had put us at least two degrees off our intended course.
. . .
I knew of no land within three score leagues of our current location, so you will forgive my misgivings when suddenly I caught sight of what appeared to be an island, dead ahead. What was more, what I beheld was no ordinary barren rock of inhospitable terra firma, but a land beckoning with twinkling lights, looking for all its worth as inviting as Plymouth Quay on Midsummer’s Eve. I knew not whether the inhabitants would be friendly, and believing discretion to be the better part of valour, I decided that until we had established the locals’ temperament, it would be prudent for us to proceed with stealth, and thus I ordered the Master extinguish all lamps and maintain a quiet ship. When the shore was but one league distant we hove to and I had the First Mate take me ashore in the skiff.
. . .
Quietly we beached the dingy and made our way up the foreshore towards, what we could see in the moonlight, was a small fishing village. My curiosity grew as we neared the first of the neatly kept dwellings and the sound of laughter and music could be heard coming from a sturdy looking but brightly lit building that had all the signs of being the local tavern. From the few small snatches of conversation I caught as we approached I decided that the language, which I had never heard before, was a strange mixture of French and English. However, as I speak French with reasonable fluency, I felt certain that I would be able to make myself understood.
. . .
Once inside the tavern, I quickly established that the townsfolk were indeed friendly and within the hour the entire ship’s company were making merry in the bright little hostelry, on what we now knew to be called Dragon Island.
. . .
Over the weeks that followed we were given every assistance in repairing our vessel and stocking it for our continued journey. In return we employed our best cartographers to prepare charts of the whole archipelago, something that the locals sorely needed. The task took many months and when it was complete, we had all grown so accustomed to the locale and their simple way of living, that we barely felt able to leave their wonderful haven. It was with heavy hearts that we set sail, but as we did, we vowed to return the following year.
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A year passed and then another and I am ashamed to say that a full decade had flown by before I was able to mount a return expedition. We sailed directly to the recorded position of the island, but despite our best efforts we could not locate even a single scrap of land.
. . .
It is now more than 40 years since that strange enchanted escapade and today even after three further attempts to find that fabled isle, all that remains as proof of our landfall and the many happy months spent there, is this faded copy of the map that we prepared for the locals during our stay. Even now as I gaze upon these faint lines, I wonder if in fact those lights I spied that night while taking the Middle Watch had been just an illusion after all. Nevertheless, I leave this map to assist any that might desire to follow me in their efforts to find Dragon Island."
I sat back in my chair, my curiosity piqued by such a fanciful story, but after some deliberation, I resolved to put the map back and not trouble myself to look for an island my father had failed to find after numerous attempts to do so. Strange things can happen to the mind in the Southern Seas on a long voyage, and it is quite possible that the whole affair was a figment of some sort of collective derangement.
. . .
As for the map though, it has inspired me and I wonder if you would enjoy designing a map of an island of your own whimsical invention. I have had our London cartographer prepare a blank map template, which you may print off, and I have also dictated instructions on the map creation technique, which I believe Collinworth has had illustrated, and are also yours for the taking. As usual, both instructions and map template are supplied in both A4 and United States Letter formats.
When downloading this file, please be patient, it is a big file at 1Mb and may take a few moments to download
 
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Posted by IsisOfSun - I've never been very good at maps, but I like how this came out,
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Posted by nepenthe - Luckily for my daughter we actually live on an island, surrounded by other ones, so I was able to use the antique map project to create a treasure map to her party that I included with the invitations to her friends, using Photoshop to add the details using the outlines of the local islands and other details. It turned out really well, with my daughter and her friends all very excited about heading off to their beach adventure destination!
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Posted by raisah - A gift for a friend :D
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Posted by jedififer - An old map I found in my dad's belonings after he died. It is a map of a land called Andor. It was found in his trunk of old wizard stuff.
Here is a link to a biiger version, I hope:
http://tinyurl.com/AndorMap
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Posted by dawny - Equitania, the island of horses
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Posted by mangaboy - This is my map, this island is known for its rich silver mines and its vast quantity of wildlife.
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The Dragonry
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For all those who may think, in their more reckless moments, that it might be easier to steal a golden egg from under the warm belly of a gently sleeping dragon than would be to make one, it might be wise to heed the text of this ancient rhyme...
Here you'll find so much more than dragons; you'll find projects that make it possible to create fantastic stories and games of your own. Every project is totally original and explained with simple illustrated downloads so that you can do the project together or (depending on age) your child can do it on their own, with a little help from you at key stages, and make something that really looks gorgeous.
All the projects are of the highest quality, because quality and attention to detail are very important to children.
So set your imagination alight with our wonderful dragons projects. Follow the story of Kaptin Scarlet, the famous philanthropist, whose 19th Century adventuring to bring back numerous weird and wonderful artifacts was the delight and fascination of civilized Victorian society. His motto, Life is Your Adventure, is as true now as it ever was, and is perfect for kids and dads everywhere, so make it yours and make the most of the time you spend together.
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