Frequently Asked Questions

Sharing Noeo with families, co-ops, and charters

Yes. A single package can be shared with multiple students and with various ages of children.

If you buy the Lab Manual, additional students would need their own or could copy the questions onto a separate notebook, and answer them there. The Experiment Guide and Experiment Kits can be shared if several students want to work on the same experiment at the same time. Additional Experiment Kits would need to be ordered if each student wanted to complete the experiments on their own. 

If you have children with widely varied ages, then you may want to consider using a Level I and a Level II program simultaneously. However, others have successfully used our curriculum by having the younger student(s) “listen in” on the Level II study. This is typically done with the understanding that the younger children will hear the information again at a later date.

For extra assistance, message our science curriculum advisors on Facebook by clicking here.

Yes. The materials can be shared between small groups of students. Depending on your group’s schedule, you may want to have the parents cover some of the material at home (e.g. complete the reading assignments at home and the experiments at the co-op).

Small schools can also successfully use our curriculum. The books can be shared by 2 or 3 students, and the experiment kits can also be shared. Typically, only one Instructor’s Guide is needed. Please contact us for special pricing on classroom orders.

No, probably just buy one bundle. Noeo models the family-centric approach to science, so if you have multiple kids in close age ranges don't buy multiple bundles just pick a bundle that they both can do, and do it together!  

However if the age/developmental differences are too large you might not want to do this. Level 1 is intended for Grades 1-3. Level 2 for Grades 4-6, and Level 3 for Grades 7-8. So you should look at the contents of the Bio 1 (or any of the other Level 1 packages) and see if it looks too young for your oldest. If it does look too young, you can either look at the Bio 2 (or any of the other Level 2 packages) and see if they look too old for your youngest, or if your youngest will be able to move up. That's the decision. So start by picking whichever one looks the most interesting to your kids!

Charter editions for Noeo that have a different introduction to the curriculum while preserving the whole curriculum. Some charter schools reimburse their members for curriculum purchases, but not for "religious" purchases. We are a Christian publisher, but, if your charter school reimburses for curriculum purchases, Noeo is still reimbursable according to the Department of Education's own guidelines for the Charter Schools Program under Title V, Part B.

§D-2 describes how charter funds may be used: “However, to the extent that their [religious organization's] involvement promotes academic learning and the mission of the charter school, religious organizations and their members may partner with and be involved with charter schools so long as the charter school’s decision to partner with the religious organization is made without regard to the religious character or affiliation of the organization and is not otherwise reasonably perceived as an endorsement of religion."

More positively put, see §D-3: "Charter schools may not limit participation in the partnership to religious groups or certain religious groups, and they may not select students or encourage or discourage student participation with particular partners based on the religious or secular nature of the organization."
See the full guidelines at this link and contact us with any problems.

Other districts reimburse for some items but not others -- if you need an itemized invoice, just let us know and we will try to accommodate you.

Curriculum Contents

The Noeo Packages (Bio 1 & 2; Phys 1, 2, & 3; Chem 1, 2, & 3) contain everything you need for a year of science: a lab manual, experiments and their materials, books, and an instructor's guide. The packages do not contain common household materials, such as baking soda or cardboard. 

You can find a comprehensive list of the household materials which will be used in the experiments for the entire year. Simply choose a product from any of the packages, then at the bottom of each page, click on Curriculum Samples to view the common household materials from there.

Instructor's Guides provide minimal commentary but coordinate books with experiments by giving you an easy-to-tweak schedule. The time and money it saves you is a bargain. The Instructor's Guides also provide an answer key to all the reading and experiment questions students will answer in the Lab Manual so you can confirm your student is comprehending the material. 

Our instructor's guides are designed to provide a logically organized structure to the reading assignments, experiments, and activities. They allow you to use multiple books and experiment kits concurrently, rather than simply "read this book, then this book."

The books and experiment kits provide the substance of the program. The experiments relate closely to the reading and multiple books add variety to the topic being studied. 

Yes, the student Lab Manual has the weekly schedule, so the student can open the book and work independently. Once they have completed the reading and experiments assigned for the day, there are questions to answer that will improve their understanding and retention of the material. The Lab Manual will sometimes have space for them to draw something they are reading about or the results of an experiment they have done.

A parent could decide not to purchase the Lab Manual, but would then need to guide their student with the work that needs to be done each day as well as spend time reading the books and working through the experiments to guide their student's comprehension of the material. 

Yes and No. To accommodate those that use their library or already own some of the titles, we list the individual titles for each package. However, we do not sell them independent of the whole package. To purchase these books separately, we recommend finding them on Amazon. Only the Experiment Kits, the Instructor’s Guides, and Lab Manuals are available individually. 

Please keep in mind that our curriculum is intended to be used as a complete program. It will not be nearly as effective if only a few books are used or the experiments are excluded. However, if you have a great library nearby and can organize your checkout times to correspond to your schedule, then you can definitely use our program successfully.

Our long-term plans will depend on the needs of our customers. We have had numerous inquiries about development of the curriculum for ages 13 and up. We are currently in the process of developing our level III courses and hope to have them completed soon. These courses will be intended for 12-15 year olds. In the meantime, the Riot and the Dance Foundational Biology functions as our high school "level 3" Biology offering, which is eligible for high school credit.

Teaching Style

We assume that Christian parents already make Bible study an integral and essential part of the child's daily schedule. We believe that science, for Christians, is simply observing and truthfully describing God's creation. Our books are carefully selected to provide marvelous examples of all of the wonders of His creation. Our curriculum is written to provide a framework for an organized study of science, not as a tool to provide our own commentary. If science is viewed from a Christian perspective, then His invisible qualities will be clearly seen (Romans 1:20) without any need for comments from us.

We have also chosen not to include Scriptural references in our materials outside of the introduction. Many science programs are being marketed as Christian homeschool science because they have sprinkled in a Bible verse here and there. Some of these programs use verses that are clearly taken out of context. In our opinion, it is unacceptable to teach children to mold Scripture to fit our needs rather than allowing it to teach us in context. We instead recommend that a complete, sound Bible study be used in conjunction with our curriculum (or any other).

Evolution and other secular ideas are occasionally presented in the books that we provide. However, we do not include books that are overly dogmatic in their presentation of these ideas. We think it is important for children to learn differing views and to have meaningful discussions about these topics with their parents.

Covering up or hiding these ideas in the home school only creates confusion for the child who hears and sees this information presented elsewhere (e.g. social media, the internet, television, co-workers, college, etc.).

We also believe it is more important for children to hear what their own parents believe about these issues than to hear what we believe. For this reason, we have not included commentary for these discussions.

While we do not have quizzes and tests, our student Lab Manual offers daily questions about the reading and experiments to further students' understanding. We provide teachers with the answer key in the Instructor's Guide, so they can make sure there student is comprehending the material. Our Experiment Guide offers students hands on learning that will be hard to forget! The experiments coordinate with the daily reading and questions in the Lab Manual.

Most of us are products of a classroom education, and our grades were typically based on successfully completing a series of quizzes, and tests. The information was placed in short-term memory by cramming for the next exam. Upon successfully satisfying our need for the information, we then quickly forgot it and moved on to the next task.

These evaluation tools are sometimes necessary in an environment where large numbers of students need to be graded at the same time. However, we should not limit our teaching techniques to those methods that are most familiar to us. There are many more natural learning tools available to homeschoolers.

Charlotte Mason used the term "narration" to describe a student's summary of a recent reading assignment. The student was required to read, or listen to someone reading, a short section of a book. The student then submitted an oral or written recount of the text in their own words. The child was evaluated based on their recollection of the reading.

You may want to take your students learning further and have them narrate what they have learned that day. Narration is also a good option for younger students who may be learning alongside an older sibling. The narrations would be individualized and allow for creativity. Most of all, narrations are an effective teaching tool that require a student to respond to their learning and to "own" their newly discovered knowledge. As a teacher, you can probably relate to how much is learned by teaching someone else. Many have said, "If you can teach it, then you have learned it for life."

For more information on using narrations to teach, you may want to visit the following websites:

Narration Beats Tests -- by Karen Andreola (author of A Charlotte Mason Companion)

Tips for Narration -- by Susan Wise Bauer (author of The Well-Trained Mind, A Guide to Classical Education at Home)

Illustrating Science Lessons is Another Form of Narration -- by Karen Andreola (author of A Charlotte Mason Companion)

We are a Christian company that designed Noeo as a tool for homeschoolers, secular or Christian, to teach science to their kids. Our company policy is to leave worldview control to the parents. Many secular homeschoolers use and love our curriculum as there is no religious dogma in the living books or kits. Our pedagogy and light schedule means you have time to teach your kids about what is important to you.

Some states advise following NGSS standards for science education. Noeo Science meets all NGSS standards for Grades 1-5. For Grades 6-8, Noeo Science meets all standards for physical science, and exceeds NGSS standards for chemistry, but does not follow all NGSS standards for life science, earth systems science, or engineering design. If you are passionate about those three subjects, Noeo's doable schedule allows room for you to have your 6th - 8th grader do more reading on those subjects in addition to what Noeo emphasizes. Message us here for more information.

First-timers

The recommended ages for our courses are directed more towards a child’s current reading level than their prior knowledge of science.

The Level I courses are not required to be completed before the Level II courses. However, if you feel that your child will become frustrated by the more challenging reading in the Level II courses, then we would suggest using a Level I program with that child. Our age and grade levels are simply recommendations.

You are the best judge of your children’s reading levels and needs. For extra assistance, message our science curriculum advisors on Facebook by clicking here.

No. We recommend that you select the course that is most interesting to your child. At this age, our goal is to promote an interest in science.

A child may start at any point in our curriculum without prior knowledge of that subject. There is no particular order of study that needs to be followed or any material in one subject that requires an understanding from another. If you were to poll the “experts”, you would find wide disparity in their opinions of which science should be studied first, and a variety of reasons why. The opinions seem to be determined as much by area of expertise as anything else.

So, there's no "required" sequence, but our usual go-to sequence for new homeschoolers is, going from 1st Grade to 8th grade: Bio 1, Chem 1, Phys 1, Bio 2, Chem 2, Phys 2, Chem 3, Phys 3.

But if it's your first time using Noeo and your 2nd grade kid(s) is especially interested in animals and other nature in your backyard, you can start with Bio 1. If they're more interested in rocks, wood, and mixing things, perhaps Chem 1 would be a great first-time bundle. Or, if they like gadgets and making things move, perhaps Phys 1 is the place to start. Again, our goal is to develop their interest in science. For extra assistance, message our science curriculum advisors on Facebook by clicking here.

Yes! That is one of the main features of our program. We understand how frustrating it is to be asked to complete an experiment that is completely unrelated to the subject matter being studied or to buy a "complete" curriculum that includes a scavenger hunt for materials. Our Instructor’s Guides are designed to provide a logical order to the reading assignments and experiments.

However fast or slow your family can take it. Most days, the times below include times to read, illustrate, experiment, notebook, and even clean-up.

Each Noeo Package is intended to take an entire school year (36 weeks) to complete. For example, you may decide to do Chemistry 1 in grade 1, followed by Physics 1 in grade 2, followed by Biology 1 in grade 3 (also see the related question below concerning order of study). This is assuming that you follow our scheduled outline.

Yes, you can. As per PayPal regulations, your receipt will be emailed from the official name of our parent company, The Amazing Dr. Ransom's. This is similar to how HarperCollins is the parent company of Zondervan.