22 January 2015

(More) Apologies


I once wrote a blog post called Apologies. Loads of people stopped by to read it. Perhaps they wondered, “What did Sue do? Did she make a huge mistake? What is she apologising for?”

Actually that post didn’t deserve all the attention it received. The only mistake I’d made was to publish the wrong post on the wrong day, during the annual A – Z blogging challenge. I got into a bit of a muddle and published my X post before my V post. A trivial mistake really but nobody discovered that until they’d clicked onto my post and read it.

I learnt a lot from that experience: Titles can be very important. They can draw readers in, by capturing their interest, making them want to find out more. Even great stories need good titles otherwise they may never be read.

Podcasts need good titles too. I talk about this in this week’s podcast, while making my apologies.

I also answer these questions…

  • Have I written any other blog posts which have misled readers?
  • Have any readers found themselves reading my rather radical ideas by mistake?
  • Why is my family glad we are used to running up and down hills?
  • Why are the Jenolan Caves so spectacular?
  • How many times can I say the word ‘spectacular’ in one podcast?
  • Why did the bride cut two holes into a shower curtain and then step into them?
  • Why might I have to go abseiling?
  • Why are stories better than text books?
  • What is one way of igniting a new passion?
  • What is our latest family passion?
  • Am I any good at taking photos underground?
  • What is my latest video about?
  • Did I win my recent copyright disputes with Youtube?
  • What treasure am I hoping listeners will discover if they listen to my podcast?
And finally:

  • What am I apologising for?
Program Notes
 
Blog posts mentioned

I’m writing too many posts all at once. And I’m getting confused.

Why I’m Wearing Stiff Undies
Disaster has struck. Our washing machine is broken.

Someone has died close to the bush track where we run. We can smell the body. It’s beginning to rot. As I race between the trees, my nose wrinkles. What a foul odour!
 

It’s hot. It’s far too hot to do anything but lie still. But I’ve been lying still all day. I’m fed-up. Perhaps I need something to think about, something to take my mind off this terrible heat.

READ  Giving a Child Unasked-For Help

Suddenly, I have an idea. I say, “Give me an attention grabbing blog title.”

Getting Kids to Help With the Chores
It took me years to work out how to encourage my children to help with the household chores.

How to Get Children to Do Their School Work
Over the years, I have been asked this question so many times. So what is the answer?

I chain my kids to the table until they’ve completed everything I want them to do.
They don’t get fed until they’ve finished their work.
I threaten them with some dire punishment.
I bribe them.
I tell them I’ll send them to school unless…


Or perhaps…

 
Music


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You can also buy Podington Bear music from iTunes.

A spectacular place to visit

Jenolan Caves

My latest video

Lots of Unschooling Questions

Learning science by reading stories

A Real Science Education


These photos were taken on our recent holiday to the spectacular Jenolan Caves.

You can find my podcasts on iTunes, if you’d like to subscribe.

You can also find me on my Stories of an Unschooling Family Facebook page.

And my children’s novel, The Angels of Abbey Creek can be found on Amazon (as well as other places).

Thank you to anyone who listens to this week’s podcast!

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

10 Comments

    • Hwee,

      You have the perfect imagination to be an explorer of caves! Many of the limestone formations have names such as The Bride, The Angel's Wing, The Devil's Kitchen…. I don't know what the official name of the formation in my photo is but I can definitely see a contemplating, caped figure as well!

    • Oh good! So I'm not totally out of my mind, then. 🙂 How cool is it that you can drive to such a cave! The formations are spectacular! We're a long way from caves but I have very good memories of exploring a few caves in the north of England when we were there a few years ago, but there weren't such intriguing formations like the ones you show here. Totally awesome!

    • Hwee,

      It took us 3 hours to drive to these caves which was okay because we stayed there for 2 nights and didn't have to drive back in one day. There was some people from the north of England on one of our tours. They were telling us about some caves close to their home. Perhaps they are the same ones you explored. We'd like to explore other caves. There are some more limestone caves at Wombeyan which is a bit closer to home. They aren't as spectacular or as famous as the caves at Jenolan but we want to visit them anyway. Maybe during another school holiday we will book a cabin, and go cave exploring as well as bush walking!

  1. Yep, a caped figure for sure – love it! Too true about the power of titles – I guess it's what grabs the key search words that brings people in. Makes you wonder why so many were looking for apologies…

    • I sometimes rename posts that haven't had a lot of views, and then have been surprised by how popular those posts have become. Spotlighting key words everyone is searching for sure does make a difference! I also think timing has a lot to do with it. Sometimes when I repost a story it is more popular the second time around, even without any changes.

      Maybe a lot of people are interested in mistakes. We all make them. I'm going to talk about that in one of my upcoming podcasts!

      Thank you for your comment!

    • Kelly,

      Yes, the cave was big enough for a road to pass through it! All the limestone formations in this cave are black with impurities because of contact with the outside air, but they are still impressive. The underground caves with sealed entrances are such a contrast because their formations are pure white, pink, rust covered… so beautiful. I hope you get a chance to travel to Jenolan one day!

    • San,

      I discovered the the word 'unconditionally' doesn't exactly roll off my tongue! I should have chosen a shorter word to sign off with. I'm just glad you think it sounds okay!

      I discovered I have to be careful with Youtube. If I fight a copyright issue and lose I could get a 'strike' against my name. So many strikes and I am out. But in this case, I think I'm okay. I'm certainly learning a lot. I never thought I'd be defending myself against a breach of copyright!

      Thank you for listening. You are wonderful!

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