I got hooked a week or so ago - dang my 15 year old for introducing me to this!

I accidently clicked on the drum (?) on the right of the school and had all of the kids come running.

is this going to improve them somehow or is it a waste of my time?

how often or how long should I do this to get a benefit?

Hi, I been playing for a couple of months now and I have yet to notice any difference. I still do it though because I read somewhere that it's supposed to help them be smarter and therefore be able to discover more things (if you haven't already discovered everything yet) and be more efficient as adults if you have. I currently have two villages running completely on their own now. I just check in every once in a while out of curiousity. I have just bought the second game and am trying to figure it out.

And yes, these games are addictive, LOL!

I find the drum a good way to gather all the children, they can be a pain to collect. It' s one of the things that annoys me about VV2. (Not having a drum!)

I still have two villages going from the first game and now I have two villages going from this one. This game is unique in the fact that it keeps on going even if you are not playing it. It's also just plain fun!

I loved using the drum to gather up all the children while the adults were burying people. It kept the kids out of the way. Also to find mushrooms, but since I have completed all the puzzles, I don't need to bother with mushrooms anymore.

There is no actual benefit to the drum other than to gather the kiddies.

I use it to gather all the children, especially the GC, up with the drum when I first check in on my games. Especially while the burying was going on. Seemed a bit more respectful not to have the GC throw a party in the middle of burial detail, which if I don't pause it quickly enough and flick the drum, ALWAYS happens!

I totally agree,
There's nothing worse than a skeleton
getting dropped so everyone can PARTY!