Yummiloo Rainbow Power Educator Review

Bookmark

Write Review

Common Sense Review

Updated April 2013

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

Common Sense Rating 3

Teacher Rating (1 Teacher Review) 3

Price

$1.99

This grade range is a recommendation by the Common Sense Education editorial team, not the developer/publisher.

Grades

Pre-K-2

Platforms

iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Show Additional Product & Pricing Details

Skills

Health & Wellness

balanced diet
fine motor skills

Purpose

Targeted Practice

Kids drag the chosen color of foods from the garden into 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 as many fruits and vegetables into his mouth as quickly as they can.
After kids have collected foods from all of the colors on 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.

Amanda Bindel
Common Sense Reviewer
Classroom teacher

Common Sense Rating 3

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return? 4

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 Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer? 3

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 Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students? 3

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.

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

How Can Teachers Use It?

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's It Like?

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.