CHECstra Teen

Interdisciplinary learning for teens

CHECstra Day offers teens a mixture of academic development, social time, and recreation. The program emphasizes choice in learning and teens are included in planning and rotating activities. Most days, our schedule is:

In-depth Study

This session, we'll have two periods of in-depth study:

[Course descriptions pending]

Rotating Period

Lunch is followed by a rotating activity each week. Past activities have included a local scavenger hunt, Zentangles creations, cooking lunch, team Jeopardy, puzzle chess, attending a Shakespeare production of Macbeth, and First Aid instruction. Fall activities will continue to represent a variety of interests and activities selected with input from enrolled teens and may include a field day, a physics egg drop challenge, a career assessment, Halloween-themed mystery role play event and more.

Fall Term Dates

Please take note of the exact days for fall term CHECstra Teen Day. We will have class on the following WEDNESDAYS: September 10, 17, 24 October 1, 8, 22, 29 November 5. October 15th is CHECstra's fall break and our make up day falls on November 12th. CHECstra Day runs from 11-3:30, however, students are invited to arrive at 10:30am and/or stay until 4pm for optional extra social time. 

Technology Use During Class Time
We have debated whether or not to have a no device rule at CHECstra in an effort to facilitate learning and connection. We are reluctant to issue a blanket rule as many of our students prefer to use computers for writing and other classroom activities. Our approach for the upcoming term is to request the following appropriate use of devices during CHECstra hours:

It is appropriate to use a device during class time to look up information related to the lecture or learning activity or as a learning aid (typing, calculator, etc.)
Student focus should be on teachers, peers, and learning during CHECstra hours. Please do not play games, engage in online conversations, or work on non-CHECstra projects during CHECstra time.

We recognize that students enjoy playing computer games together and this can be a fun, social, and engaging activity. That being said, most students have ample opportunity to play computer games outside of CHEC and we want to focus on in person activities during CHECstra time. We'd ask that students use time to chat in groups, play on the playground, work on cooking projects, play board or card games, or other non-computer game activities during social time.

Silence phones during CHECstra

We understand that students will want to check texts/email/social media during CHECstra. Out of respect for teachers and other students, do not check during class time (11-3:30). Checking during lunch or breaks is okay. Try to check a limited number of times (2 or 3) throughout the day so you give your focus to your peers.

Some device use during morning and afternoon flex time is appropriate. It should not be the only thing you ever do during flex time. Our hope is that we can all voluntarily comply with these guidelines so we can benefit from the assistive aspects of technology without compromising our learning. Our intention is to speak with people individually if their technology use is an issue. In the event that many of us are over-using technology to the point of disrupting learning, we will change our policy to request that students do not bring devices to class, so students should be aware that this may become a requirement of CHECstra.

Questions? For further information, please contact the instructors at [email protected].

Instructor: Amy Eachus

Amy Eachus is a former public school teacher who took a different path and now homeschools her three children. She loves learning beside them. She’s passionate about nature, art, and children’s literature. She also enjoys gardening, watching science documentaries, and crocheting. She feels her primary role as a teacher is to assist her students in making their own discoveries. As Socrates said, “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” 

Instructor: Maggie Lee

A mom of two, I have been homeschooling for over 12 years. My teaching style emphasizes student centered learning--I encourage active classroom discussion and participation while working to celebrate each student's strengths. Motivating students through interactive, dynamic lessons makes learning more relevant and meaningful. My goal is to make knowledge fun and accessible to every student.

Instructor: Susan Maccarelli

Susan is a parent of two CHEC teens and has enjoyed teaching classes since starting at CHEC in 2022. She has offered many board and card gaming classes as Mystery Role Play and crafts classes. Susan enjoys volunteering at CHEC and playing with her mini schnoodle pup.  Susan has a Masters degree in Education from JMU, and is looking forward to offering some new and interesting rotating options for CHECstra Teen.