Friday, September 13, 2013

Essential Oils in the Classroom - Part 1

I just wanted to share a post from doTerra's Blog. You can find a link back to it at the bottom of this post. I loved this post so much! I home school my son and we use the oils every day and I cannot tell you the difference it makes in his concentration and the way it calms him down so he can focus. I hope more teachers start to look to alternative ways to help students learn in a more effective environment! 

These teachers have had amazing outcomes using essential oils with their students. Read their stories as they share their individual experiences and tips that promote a healthy and successful learning environment in this three part series.

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CALMING NERVES
“I am a special education teacher in a middle school located in Arizona, and I first started to use dōTERRA products when my district was taking the state assessment test. My students came into class the first day a bit more nervous and talkative. You could just sense the unrestful energy in the classroom. That first day of testing resulted in some behavior that was rather inappropriate. I went home that evening and was determined to figure out how to change the environment.
lavenderAfter looking at seating arrangements and other factors, I determined that the way the class was set up was the best arrangement. That is when I remembered how Lavender essential oil would assist in calming my son. The next day, before the students came to class, I placed a couple drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and placed it behind a fan in my room. On testing days, as the students entered into the room, I turned on the fan and it began to diffuse the Lavender. The students initially had that nervous energy; however, within fifteen minutes I noticed that the students were beginning to calm down. I would continue to add a drop of essential oil on the cotton ball every hour. According to my observation, this was the first time in four years that the room was calm for the entire testing period of three hours. This calming effect continued for the remainder of the testing week.
I stopped placing oils on the cotton ball for three days and noticed that the nervous energy came back, but on the fourth day I resumed using the Lavender essential oil and observed that the calming properties resumed. I have also used On Guard in my classroom by placing 5-7 drops in a spray bottle to help cleanse surfaces. The room feels and smells so clean. I also use the mixture to wipe down surfaces that my students touch, and I have diffused Purify after my male students have come to class sweaty and smelly following exercise in their physical education class. The unpleasant odors have disappeared and I even received a comment from one of my female students telling me she hasn’t smelled feet lately.
Essential oils have played an important role in my classroom. As teachers, if we can reduce undesirable behavior or calm our students to a manageable degree, then we can focus on what we do best and teach our students. I have also been amazed with the results I have experienced in my own household since being introduced to dōTERRA essential oils and products.”
-Albert LeFebvre, Casa Grande, AZ

A CLEANER CLASSROOM
diffuser“I am a reading intervention teacher so I see lots of groups of children throughout the day. I use the lotus diffuser at school to help fight germs and odors in the classroom. My second grade students were fascinated with the glowing blue light and the mist that comes out of the diffuser. I told them  it was a germ-fighting machine. Each day they would ask what oils I had with me and they wanted to smell them. Some of the different oils that I used were On Guard, Wild Orange, Lemon, and Grapefruit.
If I forgot to turn the diffuser on, a student of mine would always remind me that I needed to put water in it. When he came into the classroom each day he would go check the diffuser to see if it needed water and then  he would go to the sink and fill the diffusers water pitcher to the line and bring it to my desk so I could refill the diffuser.”
-Michelle Bonne, Littleton, CO

- See more at: http://doterrablog.com/essential-oils-in-the-classroom-part-1