App review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Education | Updated April 2013

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Yummiloo Rainbow Power

Name: Yummiloo
Item: Yummiloo
Rating: 3
Author: Amanda Bindel

Lively, colorful game encourages kids to eat healthy fruits & veggies

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Grades

Pre-K–2

Subjects & Skills

Health & Wellness

Take a look inside

4 images

Kids drag the chosen color of foods from the gardeninto the wagon.

As the foods rot, kids drag them into the compost bin which is later put onto the garden to fertilize it.

Rooty has "snack attacks," and kids have to drag asmany fruits and vegetables into his mouth as quickly as they can.

After kids have collected foods from all of the colorson the color wheel, they can power up the carnival and celebrate health.

Pros: The story line and characters draw kids in.

Cons: Kids can't save an in-progress game and will need to complete all the colors in one sitting to get the reward of activating the carnival.

Bottom Line: Yummiloo Rainbow Power offers a fun, health-focused, and educational experience.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Health, wellness, or physical education teachers may find the app helpful for introducing kids to a variety of fruits and vegetables -- some uncommon foods like jicama and radicchio are included -- and for reinforcing eating fruits and vegetables. The app does not cover other healthy food groups, but you could use it as a fun supplement to a lesson on the MyPlate nutrition guide.

What Is It?

A short movie introduces kids to the premise of Yummiloo Rainbow Power. In a colorful world in a bit of grass, Rooty lives with other characters, but their carnival is not moving because it needs to be powered by the rainbow machine. It's empty and needs foods from all the colors of the rainbow to make it run. Kids get to choose the color on the rainbow machine and then feed the characters foods of that color, which they gather straight from the garden. Rooty has occasional "snack attacks" and needs to be fed lots of fruits and vegetables. Kids gather foods from five color groups (red, yellow and orange, blue and purple, brown and white, and green) to power the rainbow and make the carnival come to life.

Is It Good for Learning?

Yummiloo pulls from best practices in designing engaging educational apps for kids -- likeable characters, a good story line, and colorful graphics. The story draws kids in from the beginning, giving them a mission: They are to help gather a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to make the carnival run. Since they are actively engaged as problem solvers, kids are more likely to remember the information they encounter and understand the importance of choosing the right foods to fuel their bodies. Kids match colors and listen and follow verbal instructions, which helps prepare them for reading.

The game is repetitive, which will reinforce learning for some kids but may becoming boring for others. Since there is no way to save the game, though, kids will have to continue playing in order to reach the end of the story -- and get the reward of powering the carnival.

Learning Rating

Overall Rating

Engagement

Bright colors excite, and the tunes are catchy. The story and characters motivate kids to move through the challenges to help fuel the carnival.

Pedagogy

The focus is on eating fruits and vegetables rather than a fully balanced diet, but kids will learn about the variety of fruits and vegetables and may be eager to try some new ones.

Support

An intro video gives kids the back story while verbal instructions tell them clearly what to do. Incorrect choices are met with a reminder of the instructions.

Common Sense reviewer

Amanda Bindel Classroom teacher

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Featured review by
Cynthia S. , Media specialist/librarian

Media specialist/librarian

Fremont Public Schools
Fremont, United States

Yummiloo Rainbow Power: Nutrition, Food Production, and Recycling for Little People.

As a teaching tool, I would use this app as a guided or additional practice after having presented nutrition information to students. It does give students a means to plant, harvest, and recycle in a lively interface. I also like that it provides the food production experience for some students who have never had a garden.

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