We're using NOEO for DS age 10. It does sound exactly like what you're describing -- "what do I think will happen" pages and activities after reading...
It's true that "all it is" is an organized reading and experiment schedule, but that's fine by me. We ordered the full kit and it included ALL the books necessary, a microscope, and a bunch of stuff for the experiments.
Each day, DS has a (really quite short) reading assignment, which he then sums up (ala Charlotte Mason style) on the report sheets... I think they suggest that with the younger levels, oral summing up is Just Fine. He loves that he can draw pictures as part of his 'narration'.
I should mention of course that since he's 10, we're doing level 2 (starting with Biology), and we've only been at it a week or so. But I do really like it.
It's made by a Christian company, but the books are all secular publications. It's up to you how much "God" you want to bring into it, if any at all. They do talk about the wonders of creation and all that in their website and stuff like that, but there is nothing in the readings themselves like that at ALL.
We were considering the Apologia science since it seems to have good high-school level biology and even marine biology (which is DS' obsession), but couldn't get over the (IMO) over-emphasis on creation. IMO, it's fine to say "God created everything, isn't that cool" -- but when the text says "Some people will say to you that things happened this way, and some scientists will argue with you, but they're completely wrong", then that's crossing a line. Science *should* be just about the facts of what we can observe -- any discussion about 'where' stuff came from is better left to philosophy.
Oh I'm getting off-track lol... It's just that I had this conversation with DH (not religious) over the science curriculum for DS (who is religious and whose father is a pastor to boot) and me who's ambivalent and happy either way for him lol...
:
