Noeo Science reviews, please

[msjones]

Noeo Science? Has anyone used it and loved it?

 

I've done Sonlight Science K,1,2. Sonlight Science 3 will be WAY over my 7 year-old's head, so I want something new. Noeo appears to be about the right level and looks good on the website. But, I know no one who has even heard of it.

 

So, if you've used/seen Noeo, can you share your experience and help me out?

 

Many thanks!

[nukeswife]

We're using it this year. We are doing the Biology 1 program and my kids are loving it. We had tried Chem 1 in the past and it just never got done but that was because it was our first year of hsing and I was struggling with reteaching my son phonics.

 

We have found NOEO easy to implement now that I actually have a better handle on teaching my kids and the kids have learned alot. They enjoy the notebooking pages and I've even thrown in some lapbooks just to change things up a bit. The books selections have been right on for my kids as well. We're looking forward to giving Chem 1 a go next year and I'm sure it will be better this time around since I know what I'm doing.

 

HTH

 

You can see pictures of our recent lapbook we did while studying the Cactus Desert with NOEO if you click on the link in my signature.

[msjones]

Have you felt that the content was enough for your 9 year-old without leaving your younger child behind?

 

That's the problem with Sonlight -- the reading just goes right over my younger's head a lot of the time.

 

Also, did you buy the whole set -- including the Science Club Kits? (I think that's what they're called...) Did it seem helpful to have the whole kit, or could you get by without it?

[Sunshine State Sue]

We used Noeo Biology 2 for 5th grade. You can read my review in this thread.

 

You may want to search the boards. Noeo comes up on now and again.

[Cornerstone Classical]

We're using it this year. We are doing the Biology 1 program and my kids are loving it. We had tried Chem 1 in the past and it just never got done but that was because it was our first year of hsing and I was struggling with reteaching my son phonics.

 

We have found NOEO easy to implement now that I actually have a better handle on teaching my kids and the kids have learned alot. They enjoy the notebooking pages and I've even thrown in some lapbooks just to change things up a bit. The books selections have been right on for my kids as well. We're looking forward to giving Chem 1 a go next year and I'm sure it will be better this time around since I know what I'm doing.

 

HTH

 

You can see pictures of our recent lapbook we did while studying the Cactus Desert with NOEO if you click on the link in my signature.

 

 

:iagree: We did Bio 1 last year. We really liked it, we enjoyed the living books, and experiments, notebook, and I enjoyed the "open and go" aspect of it. Even though we didn't implement lapbooks, I think that would be the icing on the cake! We did supplement with DVDs for the library when we could find ones on whatever topic we were covering.

 

If you wanted to beef it up for your 9 year old, he could probably read most of the books on his own, he would already do picture narrations, and you could pull some copywork out from the info and add it to his notebook. You could also have him memorize some things too.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

Noeo Science? Has anyone used it and loved it?

 

I've done Sonlight Science K,1,2. Sonlight Science 3 will be WAY over my 7 year-old's head, so I want something new. Noeo appears to be about the right level and looks good on the website. But, I know no one who has even heard of it.

 

So, if you've used/seen Noeo, can you share your experience and help me out?

 

Many thanks!

 

We did Noeo Bio I and Chem I. I loved the reading. We learned a lot. We notebooked a good amount....at least twice a week or more. The experiments were great. I had started Noeo Physics II with my 4th grader, but it jumped way to fast for him; it was a bigger leap than I imagined.

I should've gotten Physics I and upped it with additional library books or experiments. Instead, I jumped ship and we're doing RS4K Physics I. It is good, too.

 

My only problem came with Noeo Bio I -- we'd done Sonlight Science K and several of the Usborne books we'd used in K were also used in bio I. Nature isn't a favorite of my ds's so it was hard for him to work through that section. But, all the other books are great.

[nukeswife]

I haven't had to beef anything up for my 9 year old but he's been doing that on his own with his choices of books to read during his free reading time. My younger dd hasn't had any problems as far as things being over her head at all. They are really enjoying it all. We have added in a few Magic School Bus episodes that I DVR'd from discovery kids, or that we've watched on Discovery Streaming.

 

As for buying the kit. Yes I bought the whole kit and kaboodle including the experiment kits, and felt it was really worth it. We've only used 1 of the experiment kits so far but it all worked really well and I liked having it all put together for me.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We are using Physics I with my 3rd grader and Physics II with my 7th grader. We are very happy with it. I needed easy-to-implement this year and that is what this is. I do feel that my 7th grader could use more meat, but there isn't that much out there that would meet our needs. Both of them are using these in conjunction with a science club that meets twice a month. We do most of the hands on stuff at the club and do the reading and notebooking at home between sessions. This has been one of our best science years yet (and we love science in our house.)

[yoda]

we use noeo chemistry for my third grader, and like it fine, though my dd doesn't like the notebook pages at all and we generally skip those, but then she hates to draw, which I think is rather unusual. We did buy the entire kit which is somewhat expensive but worth it. By dd also didn't like the recommended experiments though so we subscribed to Robert Kramps science site to supplement with other experiments.

 

We also do not use noeo for my ds in first grade, I used REAL Science for dd for life science, first grade, and earth science, 2nd grade and I am using REAL science again with my ds for his first grade. I liked it better personally than Noeo, we found it more engaging, but they don't have a chemistry curriculum (yet I believe).

[Pongo]

We used Physics I last year for 1/2 the year. We completed it. Although I didn't really like it (the layout)my kids LOVED it :001_huh:,and still say Physics is their favorite subject.....go figure

It's strange that they enjoyed it so much while I half-heartily taught it , I found some of the experiments , boring but they LOVED them all. Hummm... maybe I should try it again and teach it with some gusto:D

[Confuzzled]

I'm using Biology I with my 9-year-old 3rd-grader. The open and go aspect of it is great and she's loving it. I require her to complete a notebook page for every reading. She's only required to draw a picture and write at least one sentence. It's her favorite subject of the day.

 

That being said, it seems to be a little light for her age. It works great for us because we likely wouldn't be doing science at all if I had to plan it all out and collect supplies for experiments. But if you want science to be more in depth and detailed you'd be better off choosing something else.

 

The experiment kits are great so far, although I wish there were more of them. She really loved growing bacteria in petri dishes!

 

I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do for science next year myself. I'm afraid that the next level of Noeo will be too hard for her, yet if I buy Chemistry I I'm concerned it will be too light.

 

Kris

[Tree House Academy]

I am using NOEO Physics I with my 9 year old. It is definitely over the head of my 5 year old...but it is working wonderfully for my 9 year old. His reading is not advanced, so the level 1 stuff - especially in a subject he didn't know much about to begin with, is perfect.

 

I would recommend NOEO to anyone who wants an all inclusive, EASY to follow early Science program. We will be using it next year and adding in my younger child as well.

[Donna T.]

I'm using Noeo Chemistry Level 2 with my nine year old. My six year old is using Sonlight Science from Core K. He also sits in on the experiments with Noeo Chemistry. My nine year old does almost all of the Noeo reading for himself and then completes a page for his notebook.

 

I really like Noeo and right now, I'm thinking we'll use Physics next year. It's been very easy to implement. I like the kits and the schedule. I didn't think my son would even do the notebook pages (willingly, I mean) at all but he has actually liked them! He has gone from writing three or four sentences for each page to writing longer and more complex paragraphs. He is even enjoying illustrating his pages. I'm shocked! We like the books, too.

 

I recently posted a short review of Noeo on my blog. I was copying info. I had written on a thread here on this board.

[Heather in WI]

We are using NOEO Chemistry 1 for 1st and 3rd grade this year and are loving it!

 

The books are engaging and the amount of notebooking is just perfect for us. We have science everyday and it takes, at the most, 15 minutes a day.

[KIN]

We are using Physics I with my 3rd grader and Physics II with my 7th grader.

 

Would you recommend Physics I or Physics II for a 4th grader, 2nd grader and K'r (mostly along for fun)? My oldest is a very good reader, so I'm a bit nervous Physics I would be too light, but that II would be too hard for the little brothers. WWYD??? Could my oldest do the reading in II and then do the experiments with the youngers? Or, would that not jive at all? Any advice would be great. I'm pretty sure I can't do two levels of science, I really need to combine. I love the look of Noeo, but... We're using RS4K this year and I've thought about that for next year as well. It is just so short. But, it is good! Anyway, since you are there I'd love your opinions.

[KIN]

I had started Noeo Physics II with my 4th grader, but it jumped way to fast for him; it was a bigger leap than I imagined.

 

You found Physics II too difficult for a 4th grader? Could you tell me why? What is your experience with RS4K Physics? I'm using RS4K chem this year, but I'm drawn to Noeo. Which would you do if you had it to do over and why? :) Thanks!

[amyco]

This is our third year using Noeo. We started with Chem I, then Physics I, this year we are in Bio II. Last year, with Physics I my children were in 4th and 2nd grade and I thought it was just right. There was a good balance between the experiments and reading/notebooking. If your children are 4th grade and younger, I'd recommend Physics I, given there are some pretty abstract concepts taught (friction, protons, etc) and this is a gentle introduction.

 

This year in Bio II (my children are in grades 5 and 3) the reading is mostly from two or three books, especially the Usborne Science Encyclopedia. So far there haven't been any assigned experiments using the kits. Although I did pick up a dead wasp outside and have them look at it...ugh...nice to be able to ID the body parts on an insect! Again, it seems to be a good fit for them difficulty-wise.

 

What I like most about Noeo is that it is easy to implement, and you can put as much or as little effort into it as you want. You can do all the suggested experiements or none, you can require notebook pages for every single reading or just a few, etc. They read it independently now but in the past we've read it together. I require more writing for my 5th grader and my 3rd grader writes less and draws more. I think Noeo is definitely a good value. It's the only science program we've used and I'm not about to switch--I just wonder what I'm going to do when we've run through all the subjects!

[msjones]

This sounds great!

 

I have let science go since the Sonlight got too challenging for my younger son. His eyes just glazed over as we did the reading for Science 3. My new approach this year was to work 'down' to him (he's 7) for once; he's been 'working up' to his brother all the years we've home-schooled.

 

Now I need to choose. We did lots of biology/animal kingdom stuff with Sonlight. So, it'll be Chemistry or Physics.

 

What did you think of the Chemistry? We've done very little of that so far...

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

You found Physics II too difficult for a 4th grader? Could you tell me why? What is your experience with RS4K Physics? I'm using RS4K chem this year, but I'm drawn to Noeo. Which would you do if you had it to do over and why? :) Thanks!

 

Physics II jumped into the concepts of physics and I really wanted to start off our year gently, with a "what is physics?" opener. By the second week, I think, we were reading about radioactivity, nuclear fission and fusion. I found it a little much for my fourth grader. I know that the noeo author says you don't have to do level 1 to do level 2, but I just felt like we were jumping into physics without a foundation. ETA: I realize I could've made up my own "what is physics?" but honestly, it wouldn't have gotten done and my library didn't have a good intro to physics concepts book, so that contributed to my decision to bag Physics II.

 

If I had to do it over again, I would've done level 1 this year instead of trying level 2. But I just didn't want to invest the $150-ish dollars in level 1 at that point in the year. I was able to purchase all the RS4K books for about $70 at amazon.com

 

Although I am liking the gentle introduction to physics in RS4K, I do miss the fun books (and variety) that make up Noeo, and because of that, science isn't getting done as much as I'd like. *sigh* We've always been diligent with our science study until this year, and I feel like I blew it from the get-go. I will probably go back to Noeo for 5th grade and start with Bio II.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Would you recommend Physics I or Physics II for a 4th grader, 2nd grader and K'r (mostly along for fun)? My oldest is a very good reader, so I'm a bit nervous Physics I would be too light, but that II would be too hard for the little brothers. WWYD??? Could my oldest do the reading in II and then do the experiments with the youngers? Or, would that not jive at all? Any advice would be great. I'm pretty sure I can't do two levels of science, I really need to combine. I love the look of Noeo, but... We're using RS4K this year and I've thought about that for next year as well. It is just so short. But, it is good! Anyway, since you are there I'd love your opinions.

 

I would definitely use Physics I for your 2nd grader and K'r. For the 4th grader, it would depend on the child. If this was the child's first exposure to Physics or if this child was not super interested in science (like reads encyclopedias for fun), then I would go with Physics I.

 

My kids came out of the womb loving science, so my son at 7th grade is actually just a tad old for Physics II. But he is enjoying it and likes to have a subject that is easy:). I just needed something easy to implement this year because homeschooling a high schooler has been a challenge (mostly due to trying to help my little "peter pan" want to grow up and take some responsibility.)

[KIN]

Thanks for your help, everyone! Physics 1 it is!