Essential Oils - A Love Affair

Oh essential oils.  How I love thee.

Here’s some irony for you.

A year ago, I thought essential oils were complete hokum.  I mean really, I can rub some sort of weird smelling oil on me and poof, headache gone?  Anxiety quelled?  Nausea eased?

Complete.  Hokum.

And then I moved to a new school building.  And I found out something painful - I was wrong.

Most of the teachers I work with are, as one put it, “all oiled up.”  It didn’t take long before I started asking things like, “Hey, is there an oil that would help with my allergies?”  Or, “Are there any oils that could help control my OCD?”

The next thing you know, I’m a doTERRA wellness advocate, I have a plethora of DIY recipes, and enough homemade oil concoction supplies (glass bottles, jars, labels, carrier oils, shea butter, cocoa butter, etc.) to open up my own health and wellness store.

In fact, just last week, the girls and I made our own diffuser bracelets with elastic string, colorful beads, and lava (volcanic) beads that I bought half off at Hobby Lobby.

Since M and I both have OCD, we need something that we can keep on us when we are away from home to diffuse relaxation oils.  Direct application to skin is awesome, but the oil and smell is quickly absorbed, and sometimes all I need is a whiff to give me the instant calm down my overworked brain is craving.

Towards the end of last school year, I started diffusing oils in my classroom for various purposes – germ-busting, focusing, calming, energizing, and so on, avoiding smells that students didn’t like.  But I also had a student who began using one of doTERRA’s products, In Tune to help with ADHD symptoms.  With parent permission, the student used it twice a day, in the morning, and right after lunch.  The adults who worked with this child (including the parent) could tell a difference.  There were less distractible moments, fewer angry outbursts, a calmer demeanor - the change was noticeable.

Since my collection of oils has literally tripled over the summer, I’m excited to find new ways to use them in my room, without directly applying them to my students.  Here are some of my favorite doTERRA oils that I diffused last year:
*Balance - helps promote a calm atmosphere
*Peppermint - provides focus, especially useful during testing
*Wild Orange - gives uplifted, energized feelings (great on Mondays)
*Serenity - calms emotions, provides relaxation
*Lemon - promotes a positive mood
*On Guard - supports a healthy immune system

And no EO teacher collection is complete without Past Tense and Deep Blue rub.  Perfect for those rare occasions when you experience muscle tension, especially in the shoulders, neck and head.

What about you?  Do you use essential oils in the classroom?  Are you interested in learning more about specific oils that both you and your class could benefit from?  What is your school policy (if any) on using EOs in the classroom?  Or are you like I was a year ago, and believe this is all complete hokum?

See ya soon!

Allison

Shopping Wise for School Supplies

Can we talk about school supplies for a second?

Oye.  Until I became a mom, I had no idea how expensive it was to get a kid ready for school.  And at this moment, I only have one of three kids in school.  Forget saving for college, I’m going to need to establish a fund for school supplies, clothes and fees just to get all three of them through elementary school.

M buying supplies for preschool two years ago.

Since beginning our clean-green-living, I’ve learned that it can be pretty darn expensive to live that way.  But I believe in it so much that I’m willing to find ways to save here and there so that we can afford this lifestyle.  Seriously, you should see my spreadsheet.  I might be a little obsessed.  But no worries, I have a good therapist.

This past weekend I downloaded M’s list of supplies for 1^st grade.  Wowzers, as a third grade teacher, it blows my mind that first graders need 5 boxes of 24-count crayons for a 9-month period of time.  But that means a lot of artwork, and M will love that!!

I diligently began price comparing, looking at Wal-Mart, Staples, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar Tree, and Walgreens.  No Target, Office Depot or Office Max within a short driving distance of where I live.  Boo.

At this point in time, I estimate it’s going to cost at least $20 for all of M’s supplies.  And some of her supplies I’m reusing from Kindergarten, like her scissors, 3-ring zippered pouch and headphones.  I’m also lucky because her MaMa bought her a new book bag before we went on vacation, and I talked her into using that for school.  It has characters on it from the Disney Channel Descendants movie.  I'm secretly a little jealous, that movie is one of my guilty pleasures.

But I still need to get a new lunch bag (her old one is in sad shape), a food thermos and drink thermos, and gym shoes.  Then there’s the school fees that will roll around at the beginning of the year.  Plus, because M is the oldest, she will need fall clothing.

The lunch bag, food thermos and drink thermos need to be durable and reliable because of the new way I will be packing her lunches, per our real food eating.  Still working on the gym shoes, I need to do my homework on that.  I will take any and all suggestions on where to find cheap shoes.

As for fall clothing, I’m scouring our basement for baby toys, baby gear, baby clothing, basically anything I can get my hands on that I can sell at Once Upon A Child.  I’m going to use the money I earn to pay for her fall clothing (at OUAC), and I took advantage of their clearance sales on summer clothing to buy ahead for next spring and summer.  So hopefully, clothing will pay for itself.

So what’s my point in all this rambling?

Back to school season can be a real drain on the wallet.  And if it seems expensive to me, what must the parents in my classroom think?  Especially the ones who can't really afford it?

I'm concerned for the families of my students who can barely make ends meet, who are lucky enough just to put food on the table each day.  The low or no-income families.

I know that parents who need assistance often have school fees waived, and not everyone has to get a new-to-them wardrobe because many have hand-me-downs from cousins.  But $20 (or more) of school supplies is still probably a strain financially, and if there is more than one child in school, it depletes funds even more.

I’ve spent the last few days mulling over the best way to help these families. 

One thing that helped me when generating my own school supply price list for M was a Back to School Cheat Sheet I found over at Passionate Penny Pincher (great blog!).  But it took a considerable amount of research on store websites, blogs, going through store ads, etc.  Right now I am blessed to have both the time and the resources to do my shopping homework.

So I created a list for parents of the cheapest places to find each item on my classroom supply list to post it on my class Facebook page and mail with the welcome letters I will send in August.  I'm hoping this will save some families time and hassle, so that they don't break the bank sending their kids back to school.

Click here to download the list for free, and edit to meet your needs!

So what do you think?  Am I worried over nothing?  Are there strategies used in your school or district to help families deal with the expense of back to school?  Please share below!

See ya real soon!

Allison

***UPDATE - It was brought to my attention that Staples will price match.  Click here to read a blog post about their 110% back to school price match guarantee.  That's right.  110%!!  Bam!

It was also suggested to me by a highly respected Kindergarten teacher that paying an extra $0.25 more to get the Crayola crayons at Walmart instead of the Cra-Z-Art was a better choice, because she feels they are better quality.  As a third grade teacher I don't really notice crayon quality, so I will defer to teachers of younger grade levels on this one.  I did notice that M's school supply list specifically said Crayola crayons, so that opinion must be shared by other primary teachers.

Welcome Back!

I don’t know about you, but when I haven’t seen a friend for several years, it feels like I’m getting to know that person all over again, because so much has happened since we’ve last talked.

That’s how it is with this blog.

So let’s just consider this a getting to know you (again) post, shall we?

My name is Allison Gerken, and I live in the great state of Ohio (Go Buckeyes!).  My hubs and I have been married for 9 years, and we have 3 munchkins, two girls ages 6 and 3, and a handsome little dude, who just turned 1 in May.  For the purposes of this blog and for the safety of my kids, I’ll refer to them as M, K and C.  Below are some pictures from our June visit to Walt Disney World.

K and M with the one and only Anna!

M and K with Minnie.

The fam - my parents, me, my hubby and my kiddos.

So who am I?  I am a Jesus-loving, clean-living, teacher-mommy.

I would be nothing without my Lord and Savior, and if you took a peek into my music playlist you’ll find mostly contemporary Christian music.  My hubby and I are big Casting Crowns fans, and also enjoy Francesca Battistelli, for KING & COUNTRY, and I love Matthew West.  His song World Changers should be the teacher national anthem.  Listen to it here, and see what you think!

About two months ago I complained to our school nurse that, in general, I just felt lousy.  Sluggish, no energy, trouble focusing, etc.  Typical teacher stuff.  She suggested a website call 100 Days of Real Food.  This site promotes a clean eating lifestyle, free of preservatives, GMOs, chemicals, and basically anything that’s in food that shouldn’t be there.  I dove in, and haven’t looked back.  In addition to clean eating, we are now extending that thinking into the rest of our lifestyle, and it has been life changing.

I am beginning my 11^th year of teaching.  I have spent all eleven years in third grade.  I love teaching third graders because they are still excited about learning (most of the time), are really starting to understand the power and magic of reading (most of the time), but are old enough to blow their noses without my assistance (most of the time).  I have spent my entire career teaching in the same district, and although it means a daily commute, I love where I’m at!

My family is my life, and I enjoy nothing more than taking care of my husband and kids.  Summer is my favorite time of the year because I get to focus on just being a wife and mom.  Being a mommy is tough work, but being a teacher-mommy is even harder.  Instead of just my own kids to worry about, I have approximately 20 other children to care for on a daily basis.  I feel blessed to be entrusted with the future of so many young lives, but at times if feels like an overwhelming task, and I’m not always sure I’m really being successful at either one.

So in the spirit of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey, let’s begin with the end in mind.  I’m hoping to have some honest, open conversation about the daily triumphs and struggles of being a teacher and a mom.  I hope that you’ll join me in my dialogue, and invite your comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, etc.  Being a mom is a big job, and it's tough to be a teacher these days.  Doing both is a double challenge.  So bear with me, and let’s see where this journey will take us!

See ya real soon!

Allison

Hooray For May!

What a year!  I moved to a new building, with a completely new team, and a new principal.  That's a lot of new, especially within the scope of education.
But it has been a fantastic, amazing learning experience, and I am so thrilled to be where I am today.  There is a lot going on in our building, not the least of which is the fact that we are now officially a Leader in Me school!  If you are not familiar with Leader in Me, please check out the website: www.theleaderinme.org.  I had the privilege of attending a Leadership Day event in March, and was completely astounded by what I saw happening in the elementary school that I was visiting.  The Leader in Me is based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey, a book that I am currently re-reading thanks to the magic of audiobooks, of which I am now a fan thanks to a total daily commute of 80 minutes.
This is going to be such an exciting journey, one that I cannot wait to embark on with my coworkers!  We begin training in August, and I can honestly say that I have never been this eager for August to arrive!
So my point in all of this is that, in the spirit of Beginning With the End In Mind, and Putting First Things First, that I am going to try very, very hard to keep an online blog/journal of my building's journey, my third grade team's journey, my classroom journey, and my personal journey through the Leader in Me process.  So if you are curious as to what all of the hullabaloo is about, want to get your building on board, or are simply a doubting Thomas (bring it), please make sure to follow my blog, and my TpT store, where I will be posting resources that I create as I move along the LIM path throughout the next school year.  Here we go!!!!