Noeo Science Review: The Real Deal

Looking for a Noeo Science review with ALL the details?

Want to make sure you are making the best decision for your homeschool and your budget before hitting that purchase button?

Maybe you’re not sure if it will fit your kids?

It’s a bit of an investment, so I completely understand! I made sure that this Noeo Science review answered all the questions!

My three girls have been using Biology 1 (for my 2nd grader and kindergartener) and Biology 2 (for my 5th grader) for the past 4-5 months and I am excited to finally share all the things about this unique science curriculum!

Here is what you will find below:

• Why I Switched to Noeo Science

• How the Curriculum Works

• What a Typical Day is Like (with pictures!)

• Noeo Science FAQ

• What We Love About the Curriculum

• What We Don’t Love About the Curriculum

• What My Kids Think About Noeo Science

• Whether We Will Stick With It Next Year

Why I Switched To Noeo Science

We have done a different science curriculum just about every year of our homeschooling journey.

I started to feel like I was the Goldilocks of science curriculum! Everything just seemed too heavy and dry or too light and fluffy for my homeschool.

I found myself regularly finding reasons to cut science from our homeschool day, and I was forever forgetting to pick up all those experiment supplies. My kids loved science, but I was dragging my feet to teach it every day. Most days I trusted our co-op to pick up my slack with a weekly science class.

I randomly saw an ad for Noeo Science on Facebook (see video below) and actually burst out laughing – it was so relatable and so true! I started researching their science curriculum and decided to reach out to the company. These were definitely my kind of people!

They sent me the Biology 2 box to review for this blog, and I have to tell you that when I opened up the box it felt like Christmas morning! Beautiful books, microscope slides, and experiment kits galore!

I was so impressed that I turned around and bought Biology 1 for my younger kids. Yep, it was that impressive.

How the Noeo Science Curriculum Works

The super fun “unboxing videos” you can find on the Noeo Science website help you to see *exactly* what you will be getting. 

Every box comes with an Instructor’s Guide, a Student Lab Manual, a bunch of awesome books, and multiple experiment packs. 

The Instructor’s Guide gives you the option of a 2-day or 4-day a week schedule. Once you’ve decided how you want to lay your week out, it is pretty much open and go from there. 

The Instructor’s Guide is organized so that you can see a snapshot of one week at a time.

You will see:

• An overview of the week’s objectives written in a brief, conversational tone

• The reading assignments for each day

• A supply list (if any are needed)

• Daily lesson plans (what your student should be focusing on with the reading, lab manual assignments, and/or poster board presentations).

As a busy homeschool mom of 3 kids, I am able to briefly scan this instructor’s guide and jump right in with my younger 2 students for Biology 1. Truly an open and go curriculum!

I can also quickly pull out the books and have my 5th grader do the Biology 2 assignments independently most days. Giant time saver for me!

Want to Look Inside the Actual Noeo Science Instructor’s Guide and Lab Manual?

If you want to take a good look inside the Instructor’s Guide and Lab Manuals, the Noeo Science website has free downloads of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology in all grade levels.

Click Here to get a sneak peak of the Noeo teaching philosophy, books that will be covered, topic overview for the year, and more.

A Typical Noeo Science Biology 1 Day Includes…

Reading from a book full of pictures and interesting facts! My kids are always excited to come to the couch and see what we’re learning about that day. Sometimes they have to read the book to me with an easy reader science book that was included with the curriculum pack. I love that Noeo Science incorporated reading!

I usually have my phone with me so we can look up more pictures, videos, or information they are interested in or want to know more about.

Afterward, I usually have my 2nd grader dictate a sentence or two to me about what they learned or a new vocabulary word. I write it on my whiteboard, and then she copies it into her lab manual. When it applies, she also draws pictures to go with her sentences.

Here is an example of a day’s work after learning about reptiles:

My kindergartener has her own manual ( just a blank page notebook) that she will draw pictures in when she wants to.

There are experiments to do every other week or so. Some weeks have more experiments than others – it just depends on the topic. 

Some experiments and hands on activities we have done so far: 

• Made our own windmills to study wind
• Made a cloud in a mason jar – very cool!
• Made tornado in a 2 liter bottle
• Water evaporation in sunshine and shade
• Making rainbows and bending light
• After studying Louis Pasteur and pasteurization, we experimented with the best way to activate yeast and even made bread with yeast!
• We made our own agars to grow bacteria from things around the house after studying germ theory

We are currently on week 10 of 36, so we still have a lot to go. The former nurse in me is dying to get to the anatomy section so we can pull out the awesome Heart and Lungs Experiment Kit and make our own functioning lung and heart models!

A Typical Noeo Science Biology 2 Day Includes…

Assigning my daughter to read the day’s assignment.  I then talk with her about the assignment and have her narrate back to me what she learned, what she thought was interesting, etc. 

I do not have her write very much in the lab manual, because that seems to take away the “fun” of science for her. She writes plenty for other subjects, so I don’t have a problem doing most of the assignments orally or having her draw her observations. If the lesson calls for her to write out a new definition in her lab manual, I do have her complete that assignment.

As a side note, Biology 2 is definitely more intense than Biology 1. My 5th grader is learning about how to correctly focus a microscope, make slides, classifications of the Animal Kingdom, cell structure, internet research for presentations, etc. These are all things that would put my younger two kids to sleep, so I’m glad that I purchased a more age appropriate science curriculum for them.

Speaking of the internet research, my 5th grader has been assigned three poster board presentations so far. She had to pick her topic, do her own research (with some guidance from me of course), design her presentation, and present it in front of our family.

Below you can see her presenting about the Wetapunga:

Some other hands on projects/experiments that we have done so far include:

• We have compared human hair and our pet’s hair under a microscope
• Made our own wet mount onion microscope slide
• Studied a bug we found under the microscope
• Looked at our own blood under the microscope (yeah, we kinda got obsessed with the microscope for awhile)
• Created a vacuum with a bottle to suck in a hard boiled egg
• Started a Brine Shrimp hatchery! Yep, I will come back and add pictures once we are further along

We still have quite a bit of the year ahead of us, so I am looking forward to more poster board presentations and especially the owl pellet dissection we have coming up – yikes!

FAQ About Noeo Science

1. What does “noeo” mean and how do you pronounce it?

Noeo – pronounced “NO-eh-O” – is Greek and means “to understand.”

2. Is Noeo Science religious or secular?

Noeo Science is a Christian-owned company and you will see some short notes of scripture in the Instructor’s Guide. The actual curriculum though is what I would call secular – no religious content at all. 

There are some books included that touch on evolution and old Earth theory, but it is very light. The curriculum creators state on their website that they do not want to shield Christian homeschool students from certain areas of science. The conversation should be opened up so that kids are ready for what they will encounter outside the home.

3. What grade levels does Noeo Science teach?

Noeo Science offers curriculum in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry for grades 1- 8. 

4. How long do the lessons take?

There is actually a handy chart in the Instructor’s Guide that tells you what to expect, and I have found it to be pretty accurate. There is some varation if it is an experiment day or a research day for a project.

Grades 1-3 using 4-day Schedule: 15-20 minute lessons

Grades 1-3 using 2-day Schedule: 30-40 minute lessons

Grades 4-6 using 4-day Schedule: 20-30 minute lessons

Grades 4-6 using 2-day Schedule: 40-60 minute lessons

Grades 7-9 using 4 day Schedule: 30-40 minute lessons

Grades 7-9 using 2 day Schedule: 60-80 minute lessons

Noeo Science Review: What We Loved

1. Fun Experiments!

Hands-on experiments are so much of what makes science a joy for kids. I feel like Noeo Sceince has the perfect amount of experiments – enough to keep kids engaged and excited, but not so much that the mom is overwhelmed.

The experiment packs also allow the homeschool family to do high-quality experiments without having to search out random equipment. 

2. Fantastic Living Books

I literally have to hide the books in my closet and only bring out the books we are using that week because my kids would want to tear through all of them! 

There are beautiful resource books that my homeschool can use for years to come, comic book style books that make complicated topics approachable for kids, black and white books that are meant to be colored, and easy readers that bring the information to their level. 

I have often found my kids looking through their biology books after school because they want to read more and look at more pictures! 

3. Customizable

You can do as much or as little as you want with Noeo Science. The 2-day or 4-day schedule is very manageable, and I have even considered (during busy times) stretching the curriculum over 2 years by using the 4-day schedule and only actually doing it 2 days a week.

You can also decide how much writing, drawing, and outdoor exploring fits your homeschool!

4. Independent

Noeo Science was clearly created by a homeschool parent. They understand that when you have multiple kids, you need independent curriculum to make the homeschooling magic work. 

My oldest daughter loves that she doesn’t have to wait for me, and she can dive right into her science curriculum. She loves the responsibility of working on her projects and doing her own reading. 

5. Balanced Approach to Science

As I said at the beginning of this Noeo Science review, I felt like the Goldilocks of science curriculum.

When I saw the Noeo Science video (see the above video in this review if you missed it), it was so refreshing to hear someone say it too! So many science curriculums out there are either way too intense or way too fluffy.

I’m not crazy apparently if someone else sees it too!

Noeo Science does such a great job at striking a balance of making science fun, engaging, and exciting without worksheets, tests and other tedious things that suck the fun out of learning.

6. Not Consumable

The beautiful books and instructor’s guide can be used in later years with your younger kids!

All you really need to buy again are the student manual and the experiment kits, which Noeo Science does sell separately on their website.

If you really want to save, you could also just print out the free downloads on their website and not buy the student manual at all.

Noeo Science Review: What We Didn’t Love

1. Price

Quality tends to be expensive, and Noeo Science is absolutely no exception. Depending on which kit you order, it is going to run you $200-$300.

When I was just beginning homeschooling, that number would have been stunning to me. In my 5th year of homeschooling though, I completely believe in the investment I am making for my kids. I have bought cheap science curriculum for my kids before…and I got what I paid for unfortunately.

Providing my girls with an engaging curriculum that motivates them to come running to the table to learn is where I want to put my money.

2. Not Everything Is Included

Call me crazy, but for some reason I thought that everything would be included in the box for an entire year of science. 

As I look back on the Noeo Science website, I realize that was not actually what they said.

There are complete experiment packs to do really cool things with your kids, but there are only about 4-7 of them depending on what box your ordered. Each pack has multiple experiments inside, but it is not meant to cover the entire year.

There are many other experiments in the books that you have to provide the supplies for. Admitedly, they are usually things most people would have around the house: paper clips, ruler, tweezers, sugar, salt, baking soda, paper plate, etc. But there were a few things that we don’t usually have around the house like 2 liter soda bottles, bleach, potting soil, and mulch. 

I understand that including ALL of that stuff would drive the price of the curriculum up and increase the shipping cost, so it doesn’t bother me too much. I just wanted my readers to be aware before purchasing.

If you want to know exactly what else you would have to buy, Noeo Science shows that in their free downloads of the Instructor’s Guide.

3. Shipping

Clearly the secret is out about this outstanding science curriculum because once you decide to purchase – it will takes weeks to recieve your curriculum…assuming it’s not already sold out. 

As of the writing of this post, there is even a banner on their website saying that demand is so high that shipping will take 3-4 weeks.

4. The Included Microscope

A lot of the hands on microscope work for Biology 2 requires top lighting, but the microscope from Noeo Science doesn’t have that feature. We tried to use a flashlight as instructed in the microscope book, but it was not very effective.

We ended up using a microscope we already owned (a Christmas gift from Grandma) that had top lighting included. It made a huge difference! That being said, the microscope kit included had a lot of other things that were nice to have: slides, coverslips, tweezers, dyes, etc.

What My Kids Think About Noeo Science

So clearly I have loved using Noeo Science in our homeschool. It is the only science curriculum I have found that works for all my kids *and* that I have actually been consistent with. 

But I find that most people want to know what my kids think about their curriculum. 

I asked my kids in a casual way what they thought of Noeo Science and these are their very uncoached responses I received:

“Best science curriculum we’ve had so far.”

“The experiments are really cool.”

“I like the books. The pictures are so cool!”

I then followed up by asking what they didn’t like about the curriculum:

My older two kids predictably said, “I don’t like the writing.”

My youngest said, “I want more experiments.” She is in kindergarten and wants to mix and blow things up every day. Sigh.

Will We Use Noeo Science Next Year?

As things stand right now, I would give a resounding yes! 

This curriculum has been so fun and genuinely has me excited too! I’ve already looked at the unboxing video for Physics 1 and Physics 2 and I think it is going to be another great year of science! 

I am aware that the cost is a bit high as compared to other science curriculums out there, but I want to raise girls who love science! The investment is worth it to me to provide a top notch education – which is one of the many reasons I wanted to homeschool to begin with.

If you’re interested in hearing what other homeschool families think of Noeo Science, hop on over to the testimonial page on their website and have a look!

Recap Noeo Science Review

I hope that answered all your Noeo Science review questions and gave you all the down and dirty details you were looking for!

I am a homeschool mom down in the trenches with you, so I strive to write out what I would want to know before buying this curriculum.

If you are on the edge about buying, do yourself a favor and check out those unboxing videos and you will be sold, Homeschool Mama!

Have you used Noeo Science before? Do you have any follow up questions for me?

Drop all your comments below!

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