swimmermom3 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 We have been working in Noeo Chemistry III for almost 4 weeks. Is there a snoring emoticon? We'll start the experiments tomorrow and the big Chem kit looks fine. However, for the price this is a bust for us. Primarily what you get outside of the kit is a schedule with questions. No answers for the questions so you need to read everything thoroughly. I am thinking of switching to Rainbow Science and starting with the Chemistry portion. I would appreciate a decently written text with a teacher's manual about now. Any thoughts on this move? Are we premature in jumping ship? Ds (11) loves science especially experiments and had requested chemistry. I just don't think the Noeo is all that well put together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemykids Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I always say we have unschooled science until now, but that's because we have "used" or tried science curricula but they always fizzle out! Instead we end up doing various topics that catch our interest throughout the year, and my oldest dd self teaches science. We just got Noeo chemistry but I chose level two so that all of my kids could participate if they wanted to. I was hoping that this one would stick, but who knows. It seems to be the way my first dd learns best anyway, through reading and drawing about science from encyclopedias. (not exactly your average kid, LOL) I am very excited to try Rainbow science next year, I guess that means we won’t continue with Noeo but that’s okay. I can’t wait to hear more about it if you switch! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I'm with you on that boring comment re: NOEO. It's a plan to make science happen (which it wasn't regularly so that's a plus) but that's all. We're looking to switch if we can ever get through the biology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Luckily I had already planned on additonal science when I ordered Noeo or we would be right there with you. I don't think I will be purchasing it again. I'd love to hear if you can teach Rainbow secularly without to much trouble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in NJ Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I have not previewed the science program you mention. However, we just LOVE Rainbow Science. We have been at it for four weeks now. I like the teacher book, the textbook, lab books and the lab equipment. The kids love reading their text. Only four weeks in and we like it. (We are doing Physics) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks to everyone for your help and feedback. I've placed my order for Rainbow Science and am hoping it won't be too long. I'm not worried about secularizing it as we've used Apologia and LifePac. I really wanted to like Noeo, but don't. I'm one of the parents standing in line for a secular home school science program that is both challenging and interesting and doesn't look a public school text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks to everyone for your help and feedback. I've placed my order for Rainbow Science and am hoping it won't be too long. I'm not worried about secularizing it as we've used Apologia and LifePac. I really wanted to like Noeo, but don't. I'm one of the parents standing in line for a secular home school science program that is both challenging and interesting and doesn't look a public school text. We are secular hs'ers and are using RS. I have not found it to be too difficult to secularize the lessons thus far. We are still in the physic portion. I looked in the index and 'religion' is mentioned in four places, once in chemistry and 3 times in biology. I skimmed those references and from what I can tell, the mention of religion, a Creator, G-d, is used as giving different points of view. Just as he also discusses the theory of evolutions point of view. I don't read into that the author is trying to push his own belief on the reader. I did find a reference to scripture, but that can be easily skipped. We have been pleased with the program so far. I love the way it is set up and the inclusion of all of the lab kits makes it so easy to actually do the labs. The kids are enjoying it as well, which is really the most important part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 We are secular hs'ers and are using RS. I have not found it to be too difficult to secularize the lessons thus far. We are still in the physic portion. I looked in the index and 'religion' is mentioned in four places, once in chemistry and 3 times in biology. I skimmed those references and from what I can tell, the mention of religion, a Creator, G-d, is used as giving different points of view. Just as he also discusses the theory of evolutions point of view. I don't read into that the author is trying to push his own belief on the reader. I did find a reference to scripture, but that can be easily skipped. We have been pleased with the program so far. I love the way it is set up and the inclusion of all of the lab kits makes it so easy to actually do the labs. The kids are enjoying it as well, which is really the most important part. Thanks for the heads-up on the ease of secularizing the material. One of the reasons I continued to use Apologia for my older ds was that in spite of Dr. Wile's condescending tone, his explanations of what happened in the experiment are thorough. As a non science person, I appreciate this. I am able to be more effective as a teacher. Do you feel the explanations in RS are easy to understand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Yes, as a non-sciency person, I find that the language used and style of writting easy to follow. The reading sections are short with pictures and there are some questions at the end. Having the Teacher's Helper book is also very helpful. It gives you a heads up on the what is covered in each reading section like concept, purpose, building blocks and it gives you the answers to the questions as well. I also covers the lab portion with discussion points and answers. We have tried many different science curriculum over the years and it seems like we always peeter out very quickly and quit doing science altogether. With my kids getting closer to high school age, I am trying to be more diligent at doing the science and getting them ready for those high school levels. I think that RS is a great fit for us as an introduction to the upper sciences. Getting us in the habit of doing the labs and it has been fun in the process. We did Sonlight's science 4 a couple of years ago, but we got so bored with it. We were doing magnatism for so many weeks that the kids were begging me to not to it. With the RS, it moves along at a better pace, not spending too much time on each area. But at the same time not moving too fast and making each section feel disconnected to the previous. They seem to flow together, building on each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnomeyNewt Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 What level of Noeo is it getting boring at? I was thinking of using the Level 1 Chemistry for my DD for her 1st grade, do you think the living books for science at this age would get boring? We are looking for a very indepth and strong science program, since we all love science a lot, but we are finding that the living book curriculum we are finding might not meet our needs completely. Seems at least in the older levels it won't work at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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