Good advice! I took it, and found the answer to my question (chief pointing out collectibles) all by myself. Thanks!
I hope this is the proper thread for listing helpful hints I have discovered along the way - if not, please forgive me as I am already courting divorce just running my village and don't have time to read the forum in entirety.
Anyway, my two cents worth:

Kids gather herbs - fast! Not such useless little buggers after all, I keep mine quite busy.

When making babies, there is no need to waste time "going indoors". Just have them kiss until your population meter changes, then rip them apart like an enraged parent and put the young stud back to work. Fun!

I use kids to troll for collectibles by picking one up and 'flying' him around until I find something. This saves a mad hunt for a kid when you find a goodie. Fly gently though, it can make you carsick if you go too fast.

Question: Someone was talking about a clothing hut and kids not liking the change of clothes. WHAT? I have no clothing hut! I'm playing with version 1.00.04 and I bought it direct from LDW. No one is interested in any of the huts, except an occasional repair here and there. Was somebody in the forums drinking the boogajingamaloopa potion, or have I seriously missed something?
Also, I got all puzzles done with only level 2 of alchemy - my lab is still messy - so apparently you DON'T have to buy that until later.

Other than that, I'm proud to say that within a week, I have completed all puzzles and got most of the awards and collectibles. Still need 2 corals, 1 turtle shell and 1 puzzle piece, and level 3 for alchemy, science and nature faction. Still trying to have triplets and get someone to live to 90, then its just about the tech points.

We love this game! However, I am still trying, after a year, to get the last collectible (magenta stone) from VV2! I check in for an hour or so every month to no avail. PLEASE tell me you won't make me spend the next year of my life looking for one lousy turtle shell in VV3...