Here's my strategy: Get the Basics (Builder, Farmer, Scientist). When you get crops, harvest til your food is stable enough. By then, one of your villagers will be a master (probably the scientist). Convert them to Building. One or Two of the lost children must have grown up, so one should go to building and the other to research. When there's nothing to build, go back to research. Play the game a while, get tech points, solve some basic puzzles, etc. Soon, you get L3 Farming. Then, you can convert your researcher/builders to farmers and vice versa. Eventually, they'll become 50. If you are an impatient person, you can get a R/B mate like crazy until they become masters. If you're patient or don't have the time (which you SHOULD have the time) wait for them to master whatever.

Later in the game, with all puzzles solved, you can use the gong of wonder to help. Or certain stews. It depends, but it's all up to you.