Essential Oils for Classroom Concentration {Win a $25 Credit}
I have an amazing offer for all of my oily teacher friends! Here is a guest post by Stacy from GotOilSupplies.com about how oils can help your children in the classroom or while studying. Got Oil Supplies has some absolutely beautiful pendant necklaces so that your child can be diffusing an oil all day long for maximum learning potential. They also have other amazing products! You must stop by to check them out! AND…you must sign up for a chance to win this $25 store credit from their website!!! 😀
I received some sample roll on bottles for mixing my own oils, and beautiful gold labels from Got Oil Supplies. I love how they have metal roller balls and how they are made with blue glass. I have never bought a bottle with a metal roller ball. They work so smoothly and so much better than plastic roller balls! They also came with these beautiful gold lids which match the gold labels–very classy looking! What’s great is that the price is a great value for the quality of the bottles!
Keep scrolling and reading to enter to win a $25 Got Oil Supplies Credit on the Rafflecopter below.
Essential Oils for School:
Unleash Your Potential with Aromatherapy
Essential oils are highly concentrated oils renowned for their therapeutic and medicinal effects. They’re naturally extracted from plants through a process called distillation. Distillation is done by heating or steaming a part or parts of a plant (such as leaves, flowers, roots, bark, or stems) until the essence is produced. The extracted essential oil retains the plant’s fragrance as well as its other natural properties.
Essential oils can be dispersed through an essential oil diffuser or can simply be applied onto the skin. Due to the high potency of these oils, they can provide healing effects to human body just as much as the plants from which they’re extracted. They’re antiseptic, meaning they’re a good choice against infection. They can also boost the immune system. Furthermore, they can be used to relieve asthma, vertigo, bronchitis, and headaches.
Perks for the Mind
But the most prominent benefit of essential oils lies in their effect on the human mind. The fragrance of essential oils contain true essences of plants; hence, they are best inhaled. They’re known to provide a lot of positive effects to the brain, from stress relief to learning enhancement, depending on the particular oil you are using. Since they are a great aid in brain function, a number of essential oils are found to be helpful for students.
Rosemary
The first essential oil that can aid in learning is Rosemary. Rosemary extract can improve your mood and brain performance. Its fragrance relaxes the brain and can, therefore, help you focus more. This essential oil is best when diffused during study time, whether in school or at home.
Peppermint
One of the biggest struggles during study time is when a lazy mood hits you. Good thing there’s peppermint – an essential oil with an energizing effect. Its minty aroma can make you feel cool and refreshed. Plus, it can also help enhance your focus. Diffusing peppermint essential oil after lunchtime is helpful, most especially when you need to study during that lazy hour.
Cedarwood
Among all essential oils, it’s cedarwood which can deliver the most oxygen to the brain. Oxygen is important to sustain active brain function; thus, the more oxygen gets sent to your brain, the better your mental capacity becomes. This is the reason cedarwood is strongly recommended during exams as it can keep you calm, focused, and alert – all at the same time.
Lemon
A sleepy mind is not a well-functioning mind; so, better use an essential oil freshly extracted from lemon. Lemon’s citrus scent can rejuvenate an otherwise sleepy spirit. It’s also known to provide an energy-boosting fragrance that aids in concentration. As a matter of fact, this particular scent has been found to aid in several cases of learning disabilities. Wake up to a fresh scent by diffusing a lemon essential oil during the morning and start your school day feeling energized.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood can help maintain healthy blood circulation in your brain. It can help enhance your memory and concentration. Its soothing aroma can also save you from the stress and anxiety you usually get the night before your final exams. This essential oil is best inhaled during review time.
Frankincense
Frankincense is commonly diffused to soothe stress and anxiety. Aside from that, it has also been found to calm a preoccupied mind, giving way for mental clarity. Hence, it’s usually best to use this oil when you need to improve your focus and thinking.
Blended Oils
There are also essential oils made from mixed extracts that provide synergistic benefits. Peppermint and wild orange blend is a good example. It combines the refreshing effect of peppermint and the uplifting scent of wild orange in one essential oil. A blend of rosemary, coconut oil, and lemon is also a great choice if you need enhanced focus and memory.
Another famous blend is the vetiver and cedarwood blend. The essence of this blend can both calm your mind and boost your thought processes. This blend is best inhaled during the morning.
Choose Carefully
While there’s no denying that essential oils are beneficial, you shouldn’t just grab the first ones you see. Keep in mind that these oils tend to vary in terms of purity – and of course, you’ll want to go for those made from the real thing, completely devoid of additives.
1000 Follower Giveaway Celebration! Win a $100 TPT Giftcard!
Does Investing in the Stock Market Scare You? A Few Tips!
I am one of a few teachers who decided to teach the stock market this year–to be specific the Stock Market Game. Our state funds this to teach students more about economics. To play this game, there is a $15 fee for each team to participate, but this is funded by grants from Economics Arkansas. In your state there is sure to be a link to a game you can play and funding provided through grants.
The games begin at certain times of year. For example, the game I am playing with my students began January 16th and will end April 20th. AND NO FEAR! The best part about playing this game is that you don’t have to know anything about the stock market! I have even told my students that I am not an expert at the stock market, but I just know a little–I am learning along with them. To be fair I have invested a few hundred dollars with Scott Trade in the past. I made some money, and I lost some money.
There are TONS of ready made resources and after you get through the initial explanation of stocks and how the game works, the students will be completely engaged in playing. They will want to look stocks up at home and learn about businesses. What better way to teach math, social studies, geography, business, and economics than playing a real life simulation! You will be fostering investors for life! 🙂
If you want to find out about playing in your state, you can go to stockmarketgame.org. To find out who to contact in your state, you can type your zip code in here. Now if you want some resources, the stock market game website has PLENTY of resources for you to use! I also will let you borrow some items from my state 😉 at economicsarkansas. That link will take you to a live binder. We have a wonderful lady leading the way in our state to provide us with all of these resources!
Now below, you will find a quick and easy bulletin board I threw together to make students think and also to reflect the stock market learning we will be doing. After the first few lessons, the students figure out the “plexer” or message on the bulletin board. The message is “Buy Low, Sell High”
I hope you have the opportunity to play with your students and are able to use some of these resources. Initially it does take a lot of class time, but after you get your students started (2-3 weeks for about 2 hours a week), you will be able to spend just a few minutes of class to allow your students to look at their portfolios. Happy Investing!
BEWARE! You May NEVER use Flashcards the Same Way Again!
Check out my newest video, but BEWARE, you may never use Multiplication Flashcards the Same Again. 😉 When you watch this video, you will learn how to use your flashcards more effectively by teaching patterns. Enjoy! 🙂
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9JR5K6p0XE[/embedyt]
Welcome to the New Year: $75 TPT Gift Card Giveaway!
Fellow teachers, I would like to welcome you to a new school year and say Happy 2018 with an opportunity to win a $75 TPT gift card!!! Details follow.
How You Can Inspire Thankfulness in Your Kids Part 2
Recently, I wrote a post about thankfulness and how to inspire it in your students. You can see this post here. I called this their “Thankfulness Project”. Students were to write down three things they were thankful for each day. After that they were to write down one act of kindness they did each day. After about a month, I took up their journals and read what they had written. This was not for a grade, but I rewarded the students who had done most or all of the work. The parents were aware of the project as well. One of the journals that I read really touched my heart. It is pictured below. Make sure to read the very bottom sentence.
I pulled this child aside after I read her journal and asked her what she meant when she wrote, “This totally made me rethink my whole life”. She explained, “Because I didn’t realize I had so much to be thankful for.” WOW! This speaks volumes.
I Wish You the Merriest Christmas Ever!
To all my followers and visitors alike:
I wish you the Merriest Christmas Ever from this Christmas moose compliments of Teaching in the Tongas ! 🙂
Need a Cheap and Easy Book Character Costume?
In case you are needing a quick costume for book character day or for Halloween, you can try this. Now this is a bit of a stretch on the definition of “character” but everyone was impressed with the creativity. All you need is:
*a few pipe cleaners
*purple balloons
*green pipe cleaners
*purple masking tape or hot glue if you don’t care about ruining your sweatshirt
Now, I could have filled up my sweatshirt with way more balloons, but the balloons make it a bit hard to maneuver, so I didn’t fill the sweatshirt up completely. I put the sweatshirt on after I arrived at school so that I had a shirt underneath. This way I could move during the rest of the day. As you can imagine, the younger kids especially enjoyed touching the balloons as we had our school parade! I hope this sparks an idea for your last minute costume! 🙂
Have You Ever Needed a Number Line That Counts Past 1,000?
By request I made this number line which counts from 900 to 1,200 to hang on your classroom wall. This number line spans almost 11 feet. There are matching base ten blocks for every increment of 25, but the number line has lines for every increment of one. This is a great visual tool for those students who struggle to comprehend the transition between hundreds and thousands. You can see this tool pictured below. Stop by my TPT store to pick one up.
