NOEO science

[maadrose]

Give me your opinions please...we are considering this but want to make sure it is worth it and that it is a program we will enjoy...we are cosidering biology I, but that is not in stone yet, so please help me decide...what do you like? what bugs you? are the kits great? can they be completed independently? how structured is the program?
TIA!

[Ali in OR]

We used Bio I last year with a 6 yo first grader and a 3-4 yo tag along. We are using Chem I now and will probably use Physics I next year. I like Noeo a lot, but it won't fit everyone. A few details:

-If you want to build your home library with wonderful books that your kids will continue to pick up and read after you finish them, Noeo will fit you. You could do it with just buying the teacher's guide and using the library, but I think one of the big benefits of choosing Noeo is ordering the whole kit and having it ready to go with litttle effort on your part. I also like that if you own the books, the learning continues every time your kids pick them up to read on their own.

-As I mentioned, Noeo fits well if you are looking for someone else to do the planning--little effort on your part. For folks who like to select books and plan it themselves, Noeo is not really adding anything they don't already do.

-Noeo fits families whose primary learning method is reading. Great choice if you love curling up on the sofa with dc and reading great books. There is just enough hands-on to relieve guilt that you should be DOING science, but I don't think it's enough for folks with hands-on kids who want to be doing experiments every week. I think this is more true with Bio I than Chem I by the way. In Chem they encourage you to keep doing experiments from the Super Science Concoctions book weekly.

-Noeo is described as CM/classical in style. Think living books and notebooking. If you are wanting worksheets and tests, this isn't your program. I think this is particularly well-suited to young elementary. Bio I was great for first grade. Not sure it's as good a fit for 3rd grade.

HTH!

[Canada_Mom]

I did Biology I with dd6. Here's my quick review of it:

PROS:
-classical in method- lots of narration, encourages illustrations-which dd hated initially, but actually enjoys now. I'm thrilled with this!

-covered topics I wouldn't have ordinarily thought to cover at this age. eg: book on Louis Pasteur- which, by the way, turned out to be one of dd's favourites in the whole pack!

-it's all laid out for you. The guide tells you what book to read on what what week & exactly which pages you need to read each day. It lists definitions that should be recorded in the notebook. I was thankful for the simplicity of this as I've put a lot of work into other areas of curriculum.

-covers interesting topics with good quality, real books. I LOVE the CM approach. DD loved reading and I think it's such a great way to learn.


CONS:
-I personally found some of the book selections to be "lacking" for lack of a better word this early in the morning. I was disappointed with some and ended up going to library a lot to supplement. Some books were of little interest to her even though she wanted to learn more about the topic. (but hey, can't please everyone, can they?)

-the experiments were good for gr.1 level. I don't know what others would say for those in older grades. They are few and far between. We did 2 with the weather unit back in Sept. and then none until next month when we do human body. I've had to add in stuff to maintain interest. Again, lots of work on my part. I was looking forward to more hands-on so this was disappointing. I'm not super creative w/science so I was looking for experiments. DD loves doing them so I think she was hoping for more too.

-lack of accountability and guidance for what the student is expected to do. They are required to read the pages listed then do a narration and illustration about what they read. To me, the theory is GREAT, but what actually came out of dd was a different story. Some days she would just pick whatever & write 2 sentences. I found it much more difficult to have her narrate science back to me over say, history. I guess, narration is narration, but I would have liked a bit more guidance from the guide. Even SOTW gives some examples of what could be expected from the child. I didn't get the impression that DD took it seriously at times for whatever reason. She takes her SOTW narrations seriously and works diligently on them, but for science, it was a completely different story at times.

-sometimes when we would finish a book/topic I would have preferred some sort of "experiment" or project to "tie-up" our reading and close the unit nicely. This is not included in the NOEO program so again, had to come up with this myself. Although, other times our reading would just spark her interest and we would snuggle and read more books together on the topic, which is always GREAT!

Overall, I would say that I'm glad we did NOEO this year. I doubt that I will use it for next year but I will definitely incorporate some of the ideas into our science next year. I like the whole book approach & have learned to be more diligent in helping dd to narrate quality information. Once you've done one year of NOEO it is pretty clear how to design your own science curriculum while having more selection on the topics. One big reason for probably not using it next year is I don't know if dd (who will only be 7) will tolerate an entire year of just chemistry or just physics. I LOVE these topics but not too captivating for an entire year at this age level, if you ask me.

[maadrose]

Thank you this is very helpful info...i showed the packages to my 2 older kids and they both chose to do chemistry 1...still not sure if I will go with it or not...my other option is God's design for life series...I thought if I go with that then I can add in books from the library to supplement and it is my understanding that the books include ideas for experiments and such...i am really wanting to do a program like Biology 1 and it doesn't bother me so much that are only a few experiments, as I am not really the experiment type...but with them both choosing chemistry I am assuming that will mean more experiments and it sounds like fun...are the experiments which need to be done easy to implement? will i have a majority of the stuff on hand? or will be hindered by time or the lack of supplies?

[Ali in OR]

The experiment kits that come with Noeo have always been easy to implement. Just about everything comes with a kit--even string and paper clips. If anything else is needed, we have always had it on hand (baking soda is the only thing that comes to mind). If you choose to keep doing things out of Super Science Concoctions, you may need to track down some supplies, as they do not come with the Noeo box. FWIW, I think I like Chem I better than Bio I.

[Sue in St Pete]

It's interesting to read other reviews for level 1 which have the same opinion. Here is 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 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. :(