Friends arrive at the farm and aspiring agronomists help the farmer to grow what the friends want. With adorable animation and charming background music, little ones practice virtual gardening and farming while developing cognitive abilities.
Concepts
App Overview
How it Works:
- A friend drives up to Dr. Panda's farm and asks for a specific type of food
- Tap on the food to get started growing it
- Each food requires a variety of tasks to get from seed to the mature fruit or vegetable:
- Planting seeds
- Raking leaves
- Matching tools to their spots in the shed
- Whacking moles
- Smashing insects and spiders
- Watering
- Rotating pots to expose to sunlight
- Harvesting
- The scene sparkles as each individual task is finished
- Once the food has been harvested, the player is rewarded with applause and confetti falling
- Dr. Panda gives the food to his friend, waves good-bye, and waits as another furry friend arrives
From the home screen, there is a For Parents selection in which you can review the game, subscribe to the developer's newsletter, or make sound-related selections.
Curator Rating
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Adherence to task
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Worth the money
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Fun factor
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Scaffolding of learning
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User safety
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Control and feedback
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How techie do I need to be?
Novice
Instructional Ideas
This game is a terrific choice for developing cognitive skills with preschoolers and primaries. By giving them a chance to play, they grow in understanding of sequencing, problem solving, and reasoning. If they play repeatedly, their memories are also strengthened as familiar characters appearor similar food types need to be grown. In the spring when you are working with children on a garden unit, this application would serve as a way to use technology to reinforce learning.
Classroom Considerations
There are no verbal or printed instructions, so it is entirely up to the player to tap and try things in order to figure out how to complete the task on the screen. In most cases, Dr. Panda's paw holds out a tool to be used. This may frustrate learners who require more direct instruction, but be a benefit to those who like to figure things out on their own.
Whereas this is wonderfully appealing, nothing can replace actually planting a seed and caring for a plant as it grows, so be sure to include such hands-on activities.
Pros
- Correct moves are rewarded visually
- Nutritious foods are produced
- Music and sound effects can be turned on or off
Cons
- Player cannot choose which plant to grow
- There is a cost of $2.99