GRoswell Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I am interested in enrolling my 12yo in several WTMA courses throughout the year, but would like to have an idea of how much time is required to complete homework or other assignments outside of class. I want to make sure I don't overwhelm him with too much work if he takes more than one class at a time. We had this happen to us last year (new, local program to us) and it really turned him off to some of his favorite subjects as a result. The course was intended to be a full year, but the instructor decided to double up on the work for unknown reasons, and completed a year's worth of high school Algebra and Chemistry in just 4 months. My son, while gifted, was overwhelmed with excessive homework that sometimes took him 16 hours to complete (twice a week!), and that was just the Algebra homework alone. He refused to quit and stuck with it, but I never want him to be in that situation again. He was so overwhelmed that he now feels he should retake both of those classes, even though he did very well. We have been looking at a number of WTMA courses, but which ones we choose will determine on the time commitment required: Online Study Skills Fundamental Grammar World Geography World History (Ancient, Medieval and Rennaisance) Expository Writing II Chemistry 1 or 2 Chem Lab Algebra 1 or 2 (Saxon or AopS?) Thanks for your help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Peanuts Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I'm not sure which level of history you're looking at, but my DD12 is currently in Story of the Middle Ages (geared for logic stage/middle school). She has reading quizzes due every Monday (simple multiple-choice, reading comprehension questions on the week's chapter(s)) and lengthier assignments due on Fridays. The Friday work is either (a) outline of the week's reading; (b) response to a primary source reading; © discussion board question; or (d) written summary, which is essentially a mini-research paper on a topic related to the recent lessons. The written summaries take about 2-3 weeks to execute (week 1: choose the topic; week 2: research the topic; and week 3: write the summary). I would say DD spends about 1-2 hours per week on history, unless she has a written summary due. Those weeks, she usually spends more like 3-4 hours between researching & writing. It's not overwhelming but the work load is consistently on her mind. She's also taking a writing class through IEW so between the 2 online classes, she has a fair amount of writing to do each week. Hope this helps! Carol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I think it varies from class to class. My son is has done Expository Writing 1-3 (in three now) and it's a fair amount of homework. But, TBF, I did WWS 1-3 with my older boy before WTMA and the time commitment was the same, so we knew what we were getting into. My son is also taking AoPS Pre-A at WTMA. I would say that both classes have a fair amount of homework per week...I would say 5 hours per week excluding class time? But that might be high. And it's hard to know how much of that time is actual work and how much of it is staring off into the distance, lol. He also took a one semester class called "Socratic discussion" and he liked that a whole lot. It had a much smaller time commitment, compared to the other two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 My daughter is in WWS2 with WTMA this year (after doing WWS1 with me). I would put my estimate at about 5 hours plus class time, like redsquirrel. We allocate an hour a day during the week, with 2 days being class days. She is usually not done by Fri and spends another 1-2 hours Fri afternoon/evening or over the weekend. She really enjoys the kids in the class and the interaction, and wants to take WWS3 next year, even though it is a pretty large commitment. We compensate for the workload by having her do almost no other writing for history or science, other than an occasional project or small tasks like adding events to a timeline! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRoswell Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Please forgive my ignorance, but what is WWS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 We haven't taken any of their classes, but just a comment about the math. Saxon and AoPS are two very different approaches to math. You might want to get a preview of them both before choosing if you haven't used them before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 History outside class time 2-5 hours depending on the assignment given. Average probably 3.5 hours a week. Expository Writing II outside class time 3-8 hours depending on the assignment given. Average probably 5 hours a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRoswell Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 History outside class time 2-5 hours depending on the assignment given. Average probably 3.5 hours a week. Expository Writing II outside class time 3-8 hours depending on the assignment given. Average probably 5 hours a week. I noticed in your signature line that your DD8 is taking WTM Chemistry, correct? If so, what is that time commitment like? That's on my list also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Please forgive my ignorance, but what is WWS? Sorry! Writing With Skill (WWS) is the book written by Susan Wise Bauer that is used in the Expository Writing WTMA classes. I always forget the class has a different name! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRoswell Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 Got it! Thanks so much. I kept seeing that and had no clue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I noticed in your signature line that your DD8 is taking WTM Chemistry, correct? If so, what is that time commitment like? That's on my list also. She's taking the high school Chemistry class. It's a lot of work. Outside class time ranges from 4-8 hours depending on if there is a paper or lab, or just reading, homework, and a quiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRoswell Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 She's taking the high school Chemistry class. It's a lot of work. Outside class time ranges from 4-8 hours depending on if there is a paper or lab, or just reading, homework, and a quiz. Is she taking the Chemistry and the Lab class as well, or just the Chemistry? I was thinking of pairing these but not sure if it would be too much alongside the writing class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 My daughter is in WWS2 with WTMA this year (after doing WWS1 with me). I would put my estimate at about 5 hours plus class time, like redsquirrel. We allocate an hour a day during the week, with 2 days being class days. She is usually not done by Fri and spends another 1-2 hours Fri afternoon/evening or over the weekend. She really enjoys the kids in the class and the interaction, and wants to take WWS3 next year, even though it is a pretty large commitment. We compensate for the workload by having her do almost no other writing for history or science, other than an occasional project or small tasks like adding events to a timeline! Same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Is she taking the Chemistry and the Lab class as well, or just the Chemistry? I was thinking of pairing these but not sure if it would be too much alongside the writing class. That is a change starting next year. This year the lab is included in the regular class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRoswell Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 So glad I asked! Thank you for that clarification. And thank you to everyone who responded. I really appreciate the info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Dd is taking the WTMA pre-algebra Saxon and it she spends about 1hr30 per day on it. She is in a co-op wed so that day she doesn't do math. Her teacher assigns 4 lessons plus a quiz or test each week along with a discussion question. So total around 6 hours but then you need to add in class time. Pre Algebra is 1 hour 2x a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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