Introduction
If you scroll down to the bottom of this thing, you will readily ascertain that this post is partly “Autobiographical Fragments,” and partly “Shameless Appeals.” So allow me to dispatch the autobiographical fragments part first.
When I was in the Navy, before they let me anywhere near the water, I went through boot camp, and then quartermaster school, and then submarine school. Everyone knows what boot camp is. Quartermaster school (for the Navy) was navigation school. For some bizarre reason, quartermasters in the Army work with supplies, but in the Navy it is navigation—so now you know that, at any rate. I hope you are still with me. Everything was okay through boot camp—demanding, but very physical and very simple. And learning navigation was the kind of work I was accustomed to. There was no gut-wrenching encounters with alien forms of knowledge.
But then I was transferred to New London for sub school. As I was waiting for our class to start, I happened upon a text that a class ahead of us was studying, and it was filled with pictures of different kinds of valves. They were going to make us learn about valves? Now that was an alien kind of knowledge. I had grown up in a family that did not gravitate to things mechanical at all. A sense of consternation and dread began to descend upon me. How on earth was I supposed to understand valves? But I remember being reassured by another sailor, and as it happened, everything went fine. Valves aren’t that scary once you get to know them.
The meaning of this true-to-life parable is this. Many homeschooling families are intimidated by science. They got into homeschooling because mom and dad are both bookish sorts, but then they tended to gravitate to the subjects that they knew they could just step into. But many parents don’t think they could “just step into” a science curriculum, and so it gets neglected, or shuffled off to the end of the day.
Until now.
The Shameless Appeal Part
So I want to provide you with some information about Noeo Science. First, you can check out this email that Canon sent to their email list. If you decide to respond to my shameless appeal in the only honorable way that you could, there is a discount code “Canon15” that you can use which will get you 15% off your purchase.
The problem with programs that are simple in the wrong way is that you don’t really learn anything. The problem with programs where you would really learn something is that you have to choke down a bowl of gravel to get to the value. But you don’t want your kids entertained with just a bunch of sciency games. And you don’t want them to be bored out of their brains. And you don’t want them to be crushed under a rock pile of facts that were assembled by scientists with fifty-pound brains, and who had no understanding of age-appropriateness. None of that is any good.
By way of contrast, the goal of the Noeo curriculum is to take years of expert teaching and experience and roll it into complete set of open-and-go boxes. Those boxes are packed with everything you need for an engaging and fulfilling year. No need to hop into the van to head off to the hardware store in the hope that they have whatever it is you needed. In addition, Noeo has flexibility built into their scheduling so that you don’t find yourself behind the eight ball when life happens to you, as it periodically does.
So this is how it works. Noeo has done the research, and assembles the experiment kits, and finds the best-of-the-best books to teach and delight your kids. What you do is pick a subject based on your kids’ interests (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), select their current reading level from grades 1 to 8, order the materials and then (I love this phrase) open and go.
The program is road-tested. Over 14,000 home school families have used Noeo.
To save you the trouble of scrolling back to the top, here is the link again.
A Breakout of the Basic Features
Okay, I am done. Below are some of the features that Canon has put together. This is for those of you who are ad copy junkies, and are desperate to read more.
The Instructor’s Guide does all the lesson planning for Mom by putting schedules, lesson overviews, and follow-up questions to the readings and experiments all in one place.
The Lab Manual gives kids a place to take ownership of their education by giving them a place to record their discoveries, thoughts, questions, and answers.
The Experiment Guide encourages kids to get in the habit of learning independently by giving them instructions and lessons they can follow on their own (this also frees up Mom from having to hold their hand every step of the way).
Living books fosters delight, imagination, and excitement about the world by offering a variety of types of book (e.g. field guides, encyclopedias, biographies, and more), illustrating the world with beautiful drawings, and narrating the world with exciting stories.
70+ experiments encourage kids to get their hands dirty in the real world and apply their book learning to actual situations and projects.
Experiment kits save Mom trips to the grocery store by including everything needed to perform those 70+ experiments (in combination with common household items).
The flexible schedule allows families to tailor their school schedule to their life and make room for unexpected doctor’s appointments and visits from family.
Noeo can also be shared with multiple kids, saving families money, and allowing siblings to learn and grow together.
All right. I am back for a last word. As they say on the television, buy now.