Noeo poll

[dragons in the flower bed]

Given the cost, I'm wondering what the likelihood is that we'll actually use it.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I bought both Noeo Physics I and II for two of my children. We are using it as the meat for their science clubs. We are doing the reading at home and most of the hands on activities during the twice-monthly club. To tell you the truth, I would not get to it if I did not have the structure of other families relying on me to get it done.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Doing it as a club isn't a bad idea. I'll have to bring that up to the other moms in my region doing WTM Yr 3.

[Ali in OR]

I use Noeo because it DOES get done. The books are good, it's all scheduled, and my dds like the experiment kits. It's scheduled for 4 days a week but easily fits in two days. We have all of the level 1 kits (did Bio I in first, Chem I in 2nd, currently doing Physics I). We don't really do notebook pages, but we read everything, do the experiments, and write up the experiments. For me, science would be easy to skip if it relied on me pulling stuff together. Noeo makes it easy for me to get science done. And my kids enjoy it.

[Karen in CO]

I bought it, tried it, sold it. I didn't think it added enough value for the money. and I am terrible at following other people's schedules. You can order those experiment kits from other places - like RR. I suggest ordering at least one and trying it before you buy a bunch of them.

[Storm Bay]

I voted in the bought it, tried it, gave up box. Not a good fit for us at all. RS4K works much better for us--we added a KOGS with it that helps flesh it out (KOGS history--dd studies the history of chemistry that correlates with the chapters in the Chem text and the experiments.) ETA we sold it.

Edited February 21, 2009 by Karin

[1bassoon]

Bought it, used it, sold it.

 

It was - meh. OK. The pace was so deadly slow for Chem I. I think it wasn't rigorous enough for my eldest. Probably won't do it again.

[nukeswife]

We are in the bought it, tried it, gave up, then sold it camp. TWICE:001_huh:

 

I tried both Bio 1 and Chem 1. They both started out good, but got old fast. Unless you really like reading and narration over and over and over again. I'd look elsewhere. Sure there are experiments but they are so spread out in the beginning and the weather station was a real bummer. We're using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey and it's much more fun. There is just a little reading included and lots of hands on that I can do with stuff I have around the house or that's easily found at walmart, grocery store etc. If I want to add more reading it's easy enough to do with books we have in our home library or when we make our library trips.

[dragons in the flower bed]

You can order those experiment kits from other places - like RR. I suggest ordering at least one and trying it before you buy a bunch of them.

 

We have the Young Scientist Club kits, all of them. Grandma subscribed my oldest as a holiday gift a whole ago and they just sit there, unused. I was hoping Noeo would help me use them.

[partyof5]

Bought it and used it to completion (Physics I) when dd was in 3rd grade.

 

She loved the books and experiments, and I loved the scheduling. It offered a nice blend of independent work and mom-intensive work, and we enjoyed being engaged in science twice a week (2 day schedule for us). It was not particularly challenging, so it's best suited for the youngers, IMHO.

 

We would have continued, but decided to go a different direction now that we are schooling all 3 kiddos, and since dh is a scientist, he has taken on some of the science instruction in our home.

 

I have not sold my Physics set because I do plan to go through it again with my younger two, it was that good for us.

[Karen in CO]

lol - okay. well. Then I suggest leading a co-op science class. That is what I do twice a year to get through scheduled, systematic science. The kids love it, hands-on science is a lot of fun with friends, and the fear of going unprepared infront of a group of small kids kept me organized for at least 10 weeks at a time. Before you buy Noeo, make sure you look carefully at the sample pages, that really is all there is to it. It does have good resale value.

[Chris in VA]

I bought it back when I was fairly new at homeschooling (well, I still am!) and I expected "lesson plans" to mean something totally different than what was included. It's just a page a day schedule, with the books and the kits (I mean Bio 1 here). The books are lovely, the kits (didn't order them) sounded fine, but the schedule was a JOKE.

[dragons in the flower bed]

The books are lovely, the kits (didn't order them) sounded fine, but the schedule was a JOKE.

 

Are the books and the experiments coordinated to match?

[dragons in the flower bed]

It was not particularly challenging, so it's best suited for the youngers, IMHO.

 

 

Was that Level I? They have II & III now in Chemistry, the unit we're considering doing. I'll have a 7yo, a 9yo who wants to be a chemist and a 12yo who doesn't like science.

[King Alfred Academy]

We have NOEO Biology 1. I had been drooling over it for a few years and then finally had the opportunity to get it.

 

I like it, but it does not work well for us. It is set up in a 4 day format and I only had two days. I know, no biggie, just double up the days. Well, for some reason that didn't work well either. So, I am using the books, but doing my own thing. I made my own reading schedule and have added other things...worksheets, lapbooks, experiments.

 

So, I guess for me, it wasn't worth the $$...luckily I get to use it for free through my charter school. It didn't save me any time, except that the booklists were completed for me.

 

BUT...I am one who kind of goes my own direction as far as science goes.

[woolybear]

I bought Biology 1 used, for a decent price. However, it only had about half the kits and that has been my problem with it. The kits that are missing are the first couple and so I never can seem to get started. Money is a bit tight now, but perhaps when I get some I will get those kits. Without the kits, it's just reading, right? And does anyone know if I can pull together some of the items for the kits myself fairly easily?

 

It looks like this might be a good fit for us, I just need to get it all together.:001_huh:

[Donna T.]

We're using it this year, so we have a good bit left in the Chemistry 2 program. We all like it. The experiments have been fun. The Science Encyclopedia is plenty "meaty" enough for my nine year old. My six year old sits in on all the experiments and loves them. The schedule is just a schedule, no fancy lesson plans. I haven't needed them. Usually, my oldest son reads the assigned pages to himself and then orally narrates the info. to me. Sometimes, I will read it if it's one of those days when the little guy wants to tag along. We have done some notebooking with it but I've kept that low key because they have usually done so much other writing before we get to science, their hands get tired. I want to keep it fun and so far, it has been. We don't use it everyday. We use it when we feel like it :D. We usually do two days work each time we use it, sometimes more if we do multiple experiments. They love to look up the internet-links but we are Usborne groupies, so maybe we are odd like that?

[ChildofGrace]

We've used Physics I, Biology II and now Chemistry II, and my sciency dc have enjoyed them all.

[KristenS]

I like the books (we're doing Bio I right now) and I like having a fairly simple schedule to follow.

 

The experiments ... not as impressive, and not spaced out as well as I'd like. BUT ... I would likely not do them at all if they weren't included, so this works well for us. (We've had fun seeing how many science experiments Mommy gets wrong. LOL.)

 

We don't do the narration every day, but my kids are still retaining. Science was the one part of our unit studies (FIAR) that was consistently getting left out ... so Noeo has filled in the gap nicely for us.

 

It is fairly easy to find go-along experiments for weeks that don't have them, and most of the Usborne books have internet links for videos and games and further information, for those that want to do them.

 

For us, it is worth it, because we love collecting good books, and I can see reusing it with my youngest ... or at least keeping the books as reference. I'm keeping careful notes of what parts of the kits we consume so I can just replace a couple pieces when it's time.

[Jen the RD]

I used Chem 1 in a co-op 2 years ago. IMHO, it was an excellent intro to chemistry concepts. My now 5th gr dd still remembers so much of it which has been helpful in covering physics this year. I couldn't afford the same cost again, so I have used many of their recommended books for physics II. I bought the Usborne Ency, which alone is a great science text and resource, then added in experiments from Janice Van Cleave books and other library books.

 

HTH,

Jennifer

[MerryAtHope]

I bought Noeo Biology 2 for last school year. We used 26 or 28 weeks of it. The Body Book really did me in! And we didn't do a lot of the experiments. I wish I had just realized I was tired of Usborne books for science and that even though this looked like it was structured better, it wasn't going to make me want to do more Usborne science books! They just get old for reading aloud, though my kids like to look through them--they just don't enjoy being read to from them.

 

NOEO is a well-put together program though.

 

Merry :-)

[TraceyS/FL]

A "techy-sciency" friend is using it. Actually, her DH teaches it over the summer. It's one of the few things that he won't let her change. She spent the entire 2 days of FPEA 2 years ago checking out science programs. And i mean, HOURS and HOURS doing it :tongue_smilie: (she is a member here but doesn't read - i can tease her! LOL!!!)

 

She had tried a couple of years of Sonlight before it.

 

Now, i have another friend that suffers from buys it and never uses it (she can't commit to being an unschooler), and she has had good luck with RS4K. it's the one thing they actually get done regularly.

 

I'm not a lot of help huh? LOL!

[GailV]

I bought it back when I was fairly new at homeschooling (well, I still am!) and I expected "lesson plans" to mean something totally different than what was included. It's just a page a day schedule, with the books and the kits (I mean Bio 1 here). The books are lovely, the kits (didn't order them) sounded fine, but the schedule was a JOKE.

 

Ditto here.

 

The "lesson plan" was more along the lines of "read these pages, then narrate or discuss". Umm, I could figure that out on my own, why would I pay someone to tell me THAT?

 

The kits weren't integrated in well with the reading, by the way. The experiments were stuck in fairly randomly, it seemed, regardless of the subject of the reading. Again, why would I pay someone to tell me something that boiled down to "once a week pull out the experiment kit and do something". A bit of tweaking, and it could all line up ... but why pay someone and then have to re-write the schedule myself.

 

And, frankly, I thought the kits were rather a joke, too. I could find better stuff online and with what I had around the house. (I had an earlier version -- I notice that they've changed the weather kit to a different brand -- I thought the earlier weather kit was particularly useless, so maybe it's better now.)

 

And I consistently notice that people who used Bio 1 tend to be those who are least impressed with NOEO, while people who use the other subjects tend to like it better. I don't know if that means the Bio 1 is put together more poorly, or maybe the people who tend to order things like Bio 1 first are harder to please, or what. Just an observation.

[runningirl71]

We are in the bought it, tried it, gave up, then sold it camp. TWICE:001_huh:

 

I tried both Bio 1 and Chem 1. They both started out good, but got old fast. Unless you really like reading and narration over and over and over again. I'd look elsewhere.

 

This was us, too, but we used most of it and then sold it. I stuck with it, even though it wasn't as enjoyable as I was expecting it to be. It was too much reading and not enough hands on for us. I've always been child directed in Science and if there isn't interest, I don't push it. I want science to be a subject of wonder and discovery. Every lesson was the same pattern and it got old.

[Tree House Academy]

We LOVE it. My 4th grader does a good portion of it on his own. We do experiments together. We are moving on to Biology II as soon as he finishes up Physics I. :) Love love love NOEO.

[Tree House Academy]

The price of the package offered on the website cannot be beat. I tried pricing it if I bought stuff used, etc and I couldn't come up with a better price.

 

I spend so much time putting everything else in our curriculum together that it was a huge help to have everything laid out.

 

:iagree:on both points!

[Storm Bay]

Was that Level I? They have II & III now in Chemistry, the unit we're considering doing. I'll have a 7yo, a 9yo who wants to be a chemist and a 12yo who doesn't like science.

 

Noeo failed for my dd who doesn't like science, and she's partly why I bought it. She still doesn't love science, but she is doing better with RS4K. I don't remember which level we had in the Chemistry with Noeo, though.

 

fwiw, I have one (13 yo) who wants to be a biochemist, and she loves RS4K (we have Level II Chem, which is for grades 7-9, but isn't enough for a high school Chem credit--my history-loving 10 yo is doing Chem I along with the History KOGS for Chem).

[Mothersweets]

I bought Noeo Physics II and failed. :(

 

I really wanted to like it, but physics is sooo boooring, imo. My dh and my older boys all love physics but they weren't the ones teaching or participating in the course. :D

 

So, I packed it away and we are happily using Sonlight science 5.

[greensummervillian]

We are nearly done with Chemistry II. We are a science loving family, and I think we've learned a lot from this course. Even me. In this course the experiments do go well with the reading, and the schedule is logical. Yes, I probably could have scheduled it myself, but it would have been a lot of work to do it as well as NOEO. I've already ordered Physics II.

 

The young scientists club experiments were simple in comparison to the rest of the books. It has worked well for us because the simple experiments are great for my 7 year old. Based on my kids' ages I should have used Chemistry I, but I'm glad we went with the more difficult one.

[rainforest mama]

We are just finishing up Physics I. We've enjoyed it, and it was nice to not have to schedule everything myself for a change. I liked it better than RS4K. I bought the whole package and was glad for it. We didn't always get to science on schedule, but it was easy to catch up and DD really enjoyed the books and experiments.

 

I'm not going to use NOEO next year though, because we have the How the ... Works books already and will use those.

 

Lana.