NOEO science questions!

[3browneyedboys4me]

HI,

I have just heard of this science program- yesterday!:D And, I REALLY like what I've seen and read, so far.

 

Are there any mom's out there that can give me an opinion about this program? I've never taught Science. I have a 10,8, and 6yr old. I have to admit BJU Science looks good too. And, I know many of you are huge fans of that program. I just don't know which one. I really love the 'informal' feel of NOEO. It just seems so fun!

 

 

Any advice would be great!:)

[3browneyedboys4me]

:D

[dragons in the flower bed]

If you do a search of the K-6 boards you'll find many posts on Noeo. I asked about it not so long ago here.

[Suzanne115]

We are doing Biology 1 this year and we have really enjoyed it. I am using it with my first grade daugther. I like that it is light enough to add our own things in with it. I have already purchased Chemistry 1 and it looks good too. I think you could easily use it for all of your kids.

 

Suzanne

[yslek]

My two oldest boys are going through Physics I. It's just the right amount of work for us. The reading doesn't take very long, but they are learning tons. They love experiment days. (I've dropped having them do lab pages for the notebook for now, so we just do the experiments and talk about them. They do still do notebook pages for the readings, though.) They've picked out Biology II for next year, and we're all really looking forward to it. :)

[Tree House Academy]

We are doing Physics I this year. I really liked the program, but eill be switching this year to Heart of Dakota for both kids so I can combine them. NOEO has worked well for my older son, but it was well over the head of my 5.5 year old this year...even at level 1.

[3browneyedboys4me]

I appreciate your insight!

[meldamo]

My son did Chemistry II last year and is working through Physics II right now. It is perfect for us. He can do virtually everything on his own, and he is definitely learning a lot. We will be going on to Biology II next year and starting the lower levels with my daughter in the next year or so. I just have no idea what to use with my son once we finish biology.

[RJH]

We just started Bio II this week, and I think it's fantastic.:001_smile:

[Donna T.]

We're using Chemistry 2. We like it very much. We have dropped the notebooking though. They are doing oral narrations instead. We are doing everything else and I've liked it enough to consider Physics 2 in the future. However, I've never tried BJU and I think I'd probably like it just as much.

[HollyDay]

We did Chem 2 last year with a 3rd and 6th grader. My 6th grader did not like it. She is my concrete child who did not like studying the abstract nature of atoms. She also did not enjoy studying one topic all year. We went back to BJU for her.

 

BJU is excellent in the elementary grades. We enjoyed and learned from it.

 

NOEO is a different approach. I liked it. My youngest liked it. Chem 2 is tough stuff. I didnt get taught much of the material until high school! But, the presentation is excellent.

 

You couldnt go wrong with either program

[Amy C]

My 7th grader is on week 7 of Chemistry III. So far we really like it. He is learning a lot and loves doing the experiments. The books in the program are well chosen, although we sometimes have to supplement with the science encyclopedia.

 

Amy

[3browneyedboys4me]

I realize that with all curriculum you have to take into account personalities. Having never taught Science, I have no idea how they will like ANY program. :tongue_smilie: But, it looks like this is a fun, enjoyable one. So, I really appreciate everyone's opinions. I'm sure it will be great!

[Jennifer in NH]

We are doing Chem I this year with an 8 and 6 year old. They love it. We also don't fill in the lab reports. Experiments are great. I did supplement it with real science 4 kids chemistry as well. Plus, the game Elemento which is monopoly but using the periodic table. That game is available at Rainbow Resource http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/ElementO/002169/1238631612-1818984

 

I do recommend NOEO, but I have never tried BJU.

[calandalsmom]

We did chem 1 and it was boring. The experiments were good but the lab sheets didnt get done and I felt that was important enough to be disappointed that we didnt use them. While some books were good, others were so very blah. (The periodic table book for instance.)

 

I just order the Young Scientist Club experiments kits from Rainbow Resource now.

[KristenS]

We're doing Bio I. We stopped doing the lab sheets everyday, as it was too much for my first grader.

 

The experiments come in clumps, not neatly spaced out, just so you know. But the reading is usually just a page or two a day, very gentle. We've had a lot of fun learning this year.

 

My biggest gripe has actually been the Young Scientist Kits. Some of the experiments just don't work right, and one was missing a diagram. There's a Noeo yahoo group, so I learned that some folks got the diagram (for felt drawings of organs for a T-shirt) and some of us didn't. Probably not Noeo's fault but the kit company's fault.

 

If you read AHEAD on the experiments and browse to see if others have had trouble with them, then Noeo is great. (I kind of jinx science experiments, I guess, so that's a biggie for me.) There were a few I've found a better way to do, here and there.

 

It's been very gentle, though, and my 4yo has loved tagging along for the simpler bits.

 

Some of the Usborne internet-linked books also have printable pages, which can help round out the science notebooks if you'd rather they color something than always have to write or narrate. And one week Dover's teacher sampler had human body coloring pages ... that coloring book would make a GREAT addition for the younger Bio users. We used the printables of the digestive system to help us out.

 

I like that it uses real books (leaving us with a nice science library) and that it's gentle and conversational. The guide doesn't guide much ... just lists what to do when and reminds you of supplies. But since you don't read every page of every book, that is helpful.

[Annie Laurie]

We're doing Physics I. It's okay. I doubt we'll continue with Noeo after this.

[Larissa]

I loved Noeo when I found it. We had tried so many science curricula where the experiments came from books and would require things that I didn't have. I would tell the kids "wait until I go to the store so I can get borax and balloons and string" or whatever and we would never get to the experiments. With everything in the kits, our experiments finally got done.

 

Some books we liked more than others. I didn't like that the 2 levels weren't integrated. It would have been easier for me. Still, we enjoy Noeo and will stick with it.

 

Larissa in NJ

[Sew happily ever after]

We have been SLOWLY working through chem1 this year. It's taken us so long mostly because the DC HATE it, and mostly they hate it b/c the experiments are just sporadic. They do love it however when we do experiments. Many of the books are very dry and um for lack of better word...boring. i'm actually nixing the whole program and selling it for something that we like better. we haven't even gotten to the part that uses the neat little kits. we'll likely never get there as the kids just hate reading the books. I can't see using just the experiments when we could easily ditch the whole program and get some money out of it which would in turn purchase something we'd likely have fun with.

 

But I do think it's a good idea to do the immersion technique of science...you know study one topic for an entire year and then choose another topic,e tc. BJ uses the spiral approach which has the kids studying a little bit about each topic each year. They actually retain more and better information when you use the immersion approach.

[bigdogs29906]

We've used all of Noeo's level I programs and we like them very much.

We do not do the notebooking.

 

It suits our laid back learning style.

[Mom-ninja.]

GLAD TO HEAR OTHERS HAVE DROPPED THE NOTEBOOKING AS WELL. oops sorry about the caps.

 

We like it....when we get to it.

[alegnab]

I've never used it and don't know anything about it. However, I thought you may be interested in seeing some lapbooks made by someone doing NOEO:

 

 

 

 

[Jen in DE]

We have been doing Noeo Chemistry II and LOVE the format! It's bringing the fun and joy back into learning for us.

What I love:

1. They use real books like Usborne Encyclopedia of Science.

2. The schedule is easy to follow and can be adjusted to do blocks of time (2x week science, 1x week lab) instead of daily work. We save up all of our weekly labs for a lab day on Thursdays. We have a great time, and I only have to think about labs once a week.

3. I like the idea of writing down what you are learning. It was a little open ended for my kids, so I typed up quick outlines so they could fill in the information and learn the skill of outlining. It's working really well. I wouldn't do this until level II level though. I think Level I would be better to just let them write down what they understand and get used to the program.

4. We really enjoy the fun books that are part of the series. Fizz, Bubble, Flash and the Periodic Table of Elements (done as a read aloud) were fun for us.

5. The labs are really enjoyable. We really like the atoms experiment book. It has real experiments that don't take a ton of planning or materials, but are clear and fun.

 

What we don't like:

1. That we are almost done!

2. I wish there was a little more direction in the older level for the notebooking that taught them how to take notes...maybe I should send them my outlines LOL!

 

Hope this helps!

Jen