Noeo Science is it worth the price?

[hsmom]

http://www.noeoscience.com/

This looks so awesome, but is it worth the price? Also do I have to supplement it?

[Sue in St Pete]

I will assume that you are considering level 2 for your 11yo. Unless you have a motivated child and/or a child who likes to read Encyclopedias. We used Noeo Biology II with our 12yo son. Here's my review:

We used NOEO Biology II with our 5th grade son. He is not particularly science oriented. Neither am I. I have mixed feelings about the curriculum.

The advantage is that it is all laid out for you. The reading is not too difficult for a 5th grader. In fact a bit on the easier side since it's targeted at 4th-6th grade. It is not time consuming - we spend perhaps 30-45 minutes 2x per week. After a week or two of guidance, it can be done fairly independently. It’s secular, which I prefer.

The disadvantage is that it is not very challenging. The "experiments" were fairly lame - mostly looking at something under the microscope and sketching it. There are a few kits that come with it. Dad and son did the kits on eggs and owls, and they were good. Okay, my son thought the owl pellet was really gross. There is a long section using the Body Book, which is all cut-and-paste. The plant kits were decent.

But, what I found with Noeo is that there is too much freedom for my unmotivated student to do a mediocre job. Because all he has to do is read 2 pages and write about them, I find that he reads the pages and picks out 2-3 sentences to write down. I need more accountability. If I want to quiz him about what he’s read, I have to read the pages and determine the questions to ask on my own. That, coupled with the lack of hands-on activities, is disappointing.

:ack2:

[Ali in OR]

We did Noeo Bio I last year, Chem I this year, and will do Physics I next year. For me, I will pay the price because:

1) We value having a good home library. Yes, I'm spending money, but getting many wonderful books that my dd will pick up and read over and over again.
2) Science gets done. Many would look at Noeo and say "I could do this myself". But I think if science wasn't all laid out for me, it would get dropped in the hustle and bustle of things (like Spanish!).
3) Noeo's approach and philosophy fit mine, especially for early grades. We love reading, a little hands-on is good but we don't need a lot, we learn a lot without having to do worksheets or much writing.
4) Noeo is easy for me and my kids like science. They are developing the curiosity and interest that I want them to have as life-long learners.
5) My budget isn't too tight. If it was, I would probably settle for something that was cheaper and more work for me.

[hsmom]

It looked more hands on than you ladies are stating. I am looking for more hands on. Ds is VERY hands on everything.

[Cornerstone Classical]

We're doing Bio 1 and we enjoy it. I agree that it's all laid out there for you and it's pick up and go. The books are great and I like them for my new additions to my home library. It comes with a science experiment pack for the weather and plant section. It is CM in that you read and draw what you learned each day on these nifty lab sheets. So you are getting hand on in some portions/living books/narration/and drawing/coloring. But this is for Bio 1. Geared for lower grammar stage. I don't know how the upper grammar levels are...

HTH
:)

[Melissa in CA]

We started the year with NOEO Chemistry II, but once the BJU HomeSat classes for the year began and I saw how fantastic their new Science 5 looked, I decided to buy it also. For a few months we were doing BJU science 4x a week and a weeks worth of NOEO in one day. Gradually we just stopped using NOEO entirely and it sits on the shelf. My son finds BJU far more interesting, and he has learned GOBS this year.

In my opinion...NOEO doesn't compare. Is NOEO good? Yes. Does it have hands-on experiments? Yes. Can it get extremely boring after a while? Yes.
We have enjoyed the experiments, but sometimes the reading about elements, etc., got rather tedious. We read a whole book about the Periodic Table, and then began another book about the Periodic Table, along with encyclopedia info on elements in the Periodic Table....ack! We both were gettin' bored. Keep in mind we got bored with the Apologia Elem books also.

I have since concluded that what we like best in a science program is variety. Learning about lots of different topics during the year, and not focusing for months on one thing. We'll have plenty of focus-time in the upper grades...

I am currently deciding between Sonlight's Science 5 for next year (which I have) or BJU's 6th science (which I'll have to buy). BJU has been so good this year that I am almost afraid to NOT use it next year for fear we might miss something good. :D Decisions, decisions...