Happy Monday friends! Today’s topic is ALL about aromatherapy for behavior in the classroom.
About 10 years ago I received my first training on aromatherapy. I worked at Bath and Body Works and we sold essential oils at the time. We had a whole chart on which oils work to help aid in various parts of health. This ranged from stomach aches to behavioral issues.
This was SO interesting to me! I thought it was so fascinating that certain scents could affect us in such a powerful way. And you know what? I was totally on board. I know scents affect me. Vanilla totally relaxes me, a good Fall scent brings me ALL the happy vibes, and fruity & floral scents get me in the best mood during Spring and Summer. So since I already felt so drawn to scents, I loved the idea of this actually being a studied topic for health. And it ain’t new either! Essential oils have been being used for almost 6,000 years. Crazy!
Anyway, I left BBW and years went on and I kind of forgot about essential oils BUT I scooped up all the room sprays/plug ins that I loved over the years and constantly used them in my classroom. Scent was still very powerful to me. I would change out the scents with the season and the kiddos loved it!
Fast forward to me becoming a mom: I belonged to a mom group and met a new amazing friend, Melissa, who reintroduced me to essential oils. I was excited telling her that I was introduced ages ago but forgot all about them. She had started using them as a natural alternative to many different things such as cleaning, aromatherapy, and even immune support.
She started teaching me so much that I never knew about oils. I only thought they were good for aromatherapy! It is amazing what oils can do!
Even though they have many different uses, my all time favorite is just for aromatherapy. I love the idea of being able to mix different scents to come up with my own blend. With that, I did a lot more research on these oils. I kept reading that some blends could definitely help with behavior issues.
So let’s dive into how you can use aromatherapy for behavior in your classroom:
The easiest way in my opinion is diffusing oils in your classroom. (It is basically a little humidifier that releases them into the air with water vapor)
- Purifying the air
- Supporting immune systems
- AFFECTING MOODS
All of which can be extremely beneficial in your classroom.
While most days I make my own seasonal blend to compensate for the sprays I gave up, I am very mindful to what our day looks like and create blends based on that. This is something you can do as well.
If we have a lot going on and we need to power through stuff, then I make a motivational blend (peppermint, orange, frankincense, lime).
If someone is having a rough day I make a calming blend (geranium, bergamot, and lavender).
Taking a test?? Make sure to make a memory/focus blend (rosemary and lemon).
The list goes on and on. I have some teaching buddies who have had great successes with some blends supporting kiddos with ADHD and autism. Right now studies are being done on oils that will give us so much more insight to this and I am excited about that!
- First you will need a diffuser. I recommend doing a quick search on Amazon. They have a bunch of beautiful ones that are a decent price. I personally recommend this one:
- You will need an assortment of good, QUALITY oils. I should mention that you need to do the research on which brand of oils you are using. Since there is still testing going on, they are not considered FDA regulated which means companies can have free-reign to do whatever they want. That, in turn, means a lot of oils out there contain synthetics. Just because the little Walmart oils say 100% pure oil does NOT mean that it is true. So make sure you look into it a bit. There is a lot of info out there! —— I personally recommend talking to my friend Melissa. I get my oils from her and she is EXTREMELY knowledgeable with essential oils. You can email her HERE.
- Find some blend recipes that you might enjoy. You usually only need 2-5 drops for them to work well AND release enough scent into the air. Your freebie happens to be a guide for 11 different recipe blends that will work well in your classroom. (Keep reading to get to it!)
- Add water to your diffuser along with your oils.
- Turn your diffuser on. The pulsating in your diffuser will mix everything up and water vapor will be released into the air with your oils.
- Just go about your day and enjoy the aromas! (most diffusers only last 4 hours with one batch of oils so you will have to refill at some point if you want the scents to continue. You CAN find a diffuser to run 8 hours though!)
It is seriously THAT EASY.

Scroll to the bottom to sign up for your free recipe guide! It will help with aromatherapy for behavior and much more – all using essential oils!
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Missed a week?
Vol. 1 – My Story
Vol. 2 – Manners in the Classroom
Vol. 3 – Behavior Chart or No Behavior Chart?
Vol. 4 – Tips for returning from Spring Break
Please be aware that some oils can trigger seizures, asthma attacks, nut allergies, and other types of adverse reactions. I would be very careful to research thoroughly before using in a classroom!
Absolutely Valynn! That is why I definitely recommend researching to make sure you are using oil that is of the best quality you can get (synthetics found in fake oils are usually to blame for those ailments)! I also recommend sending a note home to parents if you are worried about it.