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Are you staying in and around Mapleton? Are you bored and looking for something to do? Don’t you want to do something fun, fantastic and fabulous? Why don’t you go to Hollyoak Farm? Everyone says how good a day out it is!

Yesterday I took my family to Hollyoak Farm. It was my daughter’s birthday. The farm is just located outside the main town of Mapleton and is on the edge of Buckleberry National Park. The farm is set on 50 acres of land. It is ginormous. It is easy to reach by car and bus and only takes about 25 minutes.  So very, very, very quick! There is free parking for those who wish to drive. There is a bus stop atthe front gate of the farm. It is very convenient. Tickets can be bought online or at the main house. Adults are $25.00 each and children are $12.00 each. You can get a family pass and that works out cheaper. All of the activities are included in each ticket. This is a great idea.

Everyone gets to meet Farmer Frank. “Travel-Farm-Blog” says that Farmer Frank is the friendliest, fantastic, fun person you could ever meet. Farmer Frank becomes your guide for the day. He is full of knowledge and gives an explanation about how the farm works and information about the animals. There are over 100 animals to see. You can get up close and personal with them all. It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

There are different activities that people can do. All the animal activities are popular, the rides and play zone are well organized and safe, the showtime events are surprisingly interesting. When people want a break, the farm café is a good place to rest, relax and recharge. Mums and Dads love the coffee, scones with cream and jam. Kids love the delicious, delectable hotdogs and bacon battered chips.

We took the miniature train ride that takes everyone on a tour of the farm. It is a good way to learn where things are located. The train tracks twisted through the entire farm. The children then took a tractor ride. They seemed to whizz up and down. We left the play zone for the afternoon as we wanted to make the most of the other activities.

We checked out the animals for feeding, petting and walking. Animals available for viewing were pigs, sheep, miniature ponies, deer, cows, alpacas, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs and goats. The goats were the friendliest by far. We were taught how to milk a goat, feed a goat, groom a goat and then we could take it for a walk around the farm. When it comes to holding the animals,Farmer Frank asks everyone to use a small blanket to wrap and hold the animal. This makes the experience safe and enjoyable. This avoided feeling slippery, slimy skin.

Farmer Frank and his family hold two shows a day. They commence with pig racing. The audience gets to know the name of the pigs and see them run through an obstacle course. The pig who reaches the end first is the winner. The whole crowd shouts and yells at the pigs. Farmer Frank talked about the day in the life of a farmer. His family performed magic and circus tricks and there was a performance by people in costumes dressed as animals.

Overall, it was a jam-packed day of activities and learning about the farm. We easily filled in out time from 10.00am till 4.00pm. We had a fantastic day and can’t wait to visit again. I believe it was the best day out my family had experienced in a while. Why don’t you join us next time!

After reading Betty’s Blog do you want to visit Hollyoak Farm? Why? Why not?

What language does Betty use to try to convince you that it is a good idea to go to the farm?

What do you think Betty could have written to be more convincing?

Let’s explore further some of the techniques Betty used.

When learning about how to be persuasive you can use the mnemonic “AFOREST”. This approach is a memory strategy to allow you to access techniques quickly and confidently. 

There are variations to this mnemonic such as “A RIPE FOREST”, this can be explored when you feel comfortable using basic techniques.

AFOREST – what does it stand for?

A: Alliteration
 F: Facts
 O: Opinion
 R: Repetition, Reason, Rhetorical Questions
 E: Exaggeration. Emotion
 S: Statistics
 T: Rule of Three

Suggestion: Sing AFOREST to a tune you already know in order to learn the persuasive techniques.

 A – Alliteration

An alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds.

“I do”.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.

F- Facts

Facts are information that is to be true and accurate. Facts are not made-up pieces of information.

“I do”.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.

O-Opinion

Opinions are thoughts and feelings about something.

“I do”.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.

"I do".

R- Repetition/reason/rhetorical questions

Repetition is repeating words, phrases and ideas.

Reason explains why something is.

Rhetorical questions are asking questions to make a point without waiting for an answer.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.

E-Exaggeration

Exaggeration emphasizes the biggest, best, worst, smallest of something. It overstates the qualities of something.

“I do”.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.

S-Statistics

Statistics in this task are seen as numbers and quantities of things that can be measured.

“I do”.

“We do”. Find someone to work with to create a sentence using the new persuasive technique.

“You do”. Create your own sentence using the new persuasive technique.