strawberry_fields Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I have been eyeing the NOEO physics 1 curriculum for my children (ages 5, 7, and 9). I like the general idea of it. I am a little "iffy" about the Young Scientists club experiments. I have heard very mixed reviews about them. I am now trying to decide if I want to go ahead and order the entire curriculum or buy the same books and a couple of the EIN-O kits and make my own lesson plans using those. It just seems a shame to waste my money only mediocre products. We just bought a couple of EIN-O kits and plan to do some experimenting soon to see if we like those. Part of what attracted me to NOEO was that my lessons were planned out for me. (I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with having three homeschooled children next year) But then again, I bought the Beautiful Feet curriculum a couple of years ago and didn't really like it because I didn't like having to follow someone else's plans. LOL I have been doing my own science and history curriculums for the past couple of years. And we have done well with them. But then last year, we hit a difficult spot and didn't really get either one done. Is there a real benefit of using NOEO's teacher book and lesson plans vs. doing it on my own? Does anyone have really good experience with the Young Scientists kits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 We're doing Bio 1. We haven't done too many experiements yet. I got my experienment kit used from a friend. She said they were ok, but nothing great. They're better than not doing anything because you never get around to gathering materials, and that's what I tend to do. I do love the lesson plans. It keeps me on track. I will tweak it though. Sometimes we'll sit and read an entire book in one day instead of breaking it up. My boys don't want to stop reading. Which ever way you go, I do suggest getting the reading books that NOEO uses. They are great living science books, and we love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Have you seen Elemental Science? It has student pages and lesson plans but is not as involved and expensive as Noeo, so you could then feel free to do more tweaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I was just going to suggest Elemental Science for the exact reasons Lovedtodeath mentioned, but there isn't a Physics I yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Oh phooey! I forgot about that. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Maybe Paige is here looking...Hey Paige, hurry and do a Physics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Maybe Paige is here looking...Hey Paige, hurry and do a Physics! :D I think physics was the most needed level to begin with, because there is less out there that is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Have you seen Elemental Science? It has student pages and lesson plans but is not as involved and expensive as Noeo, so you could then feel free to do more tweaking. Yep, thanks to you. :D I fully intend on using it this school year as soon as we finish NOEO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Two thumbs up for Noeo Physics I. :thumbup: I used it w/ds 8/9 with little dd 5/6 tagging along and retaining more than I ever expected. I knew that it would be hard for me to assemble the materials for the experiments that year so the YSK were well worth the money to me. I loved the schedule. We did science 2 days/week. The notebooking was fun for ds--he liked drawing along w/his written explanation. I do not like having 6 books going at once, but Noeo doesn't do that. You might have 2, but one might be an encylcopedia and the other a biography. I highly recommend this program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 We did Noeo Bio 1 this year and enjoyed it. We did have a few glitches with the Young Scientist kits ... I love the concept but a few times the experiment didn't work or the directions were unclear. (Google was good for this, and there's also a Yahoo group for Noeo users ... it's small but growing.) We're going to try Chem 1 this coming year. Looking through it, it has WAY more experiments than the Bio did, and it has (as usual) lots of awesome books. I did find that one of the kits is missing a component AND a page of instructions, so I have emailed and hope to hear back soon about how they can fix this. The kits are nice because otherwise I am much less inclined to gather ingredients and do stuff. But I also like having google to help me straighten things out when they don't go as planned. :) Or I let my dh repeat the experiment in the evening, if it was a nonconsumable sort of thing ... he can make all science stuff behave. LOL. We've found it to be worth the money for the great books and the handy reading guide (it's very light on directions in bio but looks more thorough in chem). The kits ... good to have, but not always great. My kids are clamoring for more, and my son can't wait till we eventually repeat it with my youngest so he can then lay claim to all the spare bits from the kits and do his own experiments ... that speaks tons to me! (I will definitely be setting him up with some sciencey gizmos to tide him over.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I used Real Science 4 Kids and switched to Noeo Science. I lasted two weeks before I went running back to Real Science 4 kids. I liked the books Noeo used, but not as my main text. I felt that my son was not learning anything by reading up to page 4 in this book and up to page 2 and this book, etc. I didn't feel that Noeo science did enough to justify the cost they were charging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Maybe Paige is here looking...Hey Paige, hurry and do a Physics! I'm here, alittle blurry eyed though because it's 7 am where I am. That's the bummer about living halfway across the world, I'm asleep while all the good conversations are going on! Ok seriously, Physics will be done, but since I will be out of the house most of the summer, I probably won't start working in earnest on it till September, hopefully it'll be ready in April :). Just to whet your appetite, here's my rough guide of where I'm planning on going with Elemental Science. This is not set in stone though, as I'm not even sure that I'm going to make my logic stage plans available. However, if I do, my plan is to keep putting out a volume a year until the series is done... Grammar Stage: Biology*already out, uses Kingfisher books Earth Science/Astronomy*already out, uses Usborne books Chemistry* already out, uses Fizz, Bubble, Flash/Adv. In Atoms book 1 Physics-Gadget and Gizmos/Physics for Children Logic Stage: Biology-How Nature Works, How the Body works Earth Science/Astronomy-How the Universe works, How Earth Works Chemistry-Adv. In Atoms books 2-5?? Physics-How Science Works, How Things Work Rhetoric Stage: Plans for Dr. Wiley’s Self Teaching Guides Does that help with the big picture? I probably shouldn't have put this on a NOEO thread, but that's what you get from me early in the morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Paige, Thanks for posting the info. Your program looks really neat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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