Summer School Stinks!

I decided to do it.  After all, high school English summer session was only three weeks.  It was supposed to be more "fun" than a normal school day.  Sure, students still have to produce some work, but I thought we could visit a little, have a few laughs and make it an easy way to retrieve credit for those who got a little behind.  After all, I love school so I was sure everyone else would, too.

Wrong.  No one wanted to be there except me; and after the first day, I wasn't sure I did anymore, either.  Over half of the students were court-ordered to be there.  They also figured out just because they were court-ordered to be there, didn't mean they had to do anything.  So much for my vision of butterflies and laughter.  

The first thing I heard on day one was, "It stinks in here!"  Okay, they were right, it really did.  The science class across the hall was doing some type of experiment with eggs and, yes, it stunk!  Then, I had an idea.  I threw out the rest of my lesson plans and told the kids I would make them a deal.  If they promised to come in with good attitudes and participate, I would do some fun things as well for summer school.  We struck a deal and after dismissing my motley crew for the afternoon, I got busy creating new plans for our remaining days.

The next morning I arrived at 8 am ready for some hands-on learning.  I had gone to the Dollar Tree the night before and bought cheap supplies for the learning activities.  First, I introduced them to all the ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oils  (and a few other essential oils) I had.  They took turns smelling them and giving an opinion.  I gave a quick lesson on the many uses for them.

For that day, I bought some cheap unscented lotions and we added various essential oils to them like ZAQ Geranium Organic 100% Pure Essential Oil and ZAQ Juniper Berry 100% Pure Essential Oil, as well as some others. Then, we wrote about our findings.  Did we like the outcome?  How did it make cheap lotion smell great?  Did we mix a few scents and if so, what was the ratio?  The students had wonderful ideas!  Plus, they enjoyed writing and researching the oils for ideas.

As they days flew by, we tried sitting outside reading to test our different bug sprays we made using oils and charting it.  We learned and researched the difference between fragrance oils and 100% pure essential oils and how they are made (realizing you really do get what you pay for!).  We brought someone in to teach us meditation and the use of oils while meditating; that was an experience!  We did some cooking having read recipes with essential oils. We read about, wrote about and mixed up some first-aid supplies with essential oils and put together a nice kit for our classroom.  We also started a small garden beside our classroom using some essential oils to protect our plants from bugs.  

By the end of the summer session, other students wished they had taken our "essential oil" class.  Funny, no one recognized it as an English class even though students still read, wrote, researched, presented, debated and even had a project started with their garden. If it weren't for all the things essential oils could do, I would never have been able to give an entire class all A's for their hard work.  I think I have a successful and popular English class on my hands now!  I have even more ideas for next year, many of the ideas coming from the students themselves. 

On the last day, I promised them an ice cream party if they helped with one final essential oil project.  I think they only heard the ice cream party part because they all readily agreed right away.  I taught them about how well essential oils CLEAN!  I handed out ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oil Tea Tree (kills mold, general all-purpose cleaner) ZAQ 100% Pure Lemon Oil (great wood cleaner and all-purpose cleaner),  ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oil Orange, ( Naturally antibacterial and antiviral, lemon is commonly used to degrease stubborn stains), ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oil Organic Lavender,(good for deodorizing stinky cabinets), ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oil Eucalyptus, (great for cleaning wood cabinets and keeping bugs away), ZAQ 100% Pure Essential Oil Peppermint (great antibacterial properties), and ZAQ's new Cinnamon Organic 100% Pure Essential Oil (great for preventing mold, mildew and is an antifungal), and let them go at it!  They had it cleaned and smelling great in an hour.  They also learned how a little essential oil goes a long way!

I knew it all along.  School really is fun!

Kris Bitar