Ripple customer reviews

 

The children, parents, teachers and preschool administrators who have enjoyed working with Conscious Discipline® Certified Instructor Jessica Shields Flowers over the years have quickly experienced benefits... from increased academic success to healthier emotional lives.

 

Here's a sampling:

 

"Jessica specializes in Conscious Discipline, a social/emotional tool that changes the way you think about children and their behavior. She helped us learn how to give the children in our classrooms the tools they need to succeed, and she is making real, tangible differences for children in South Carolina."

 

~ Lindsey Henderson, teacher

 

"Jessica teaches best-practice parenting techniques. She opened my eyes to see that to raise great kids, you must provide consistent examples of healthy behaviors. She has enabled me and my children to thrive.

 

"My husband and I love working with Jessica and have learned so much from the Conscious Discipline philosophy. It has helped our family to better understand how to have positive interactions with our kids, insight into why things sometimes go awry, and what to do to get back on track. Jessica’s style is fun, kind and always understanding. She is invaluable to our family."

 

~ Margaret Meeker Bjork, parent

 

"Jessica has revolutionized our lives by giving my husband and me critical tools using the Conscious Discipline® framework to help parent our girls in a loving but effective manner. She helped us get on the same page in terms of parenting and to understand our children’s cognitive thought process which helped us respond and discipline in an appropriate way. Jessica became a mentor, a teacher, a resource, and a friend! Each week we looked forward to sharing our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and concerns about parenting. She will be a part of our lives for a very long time as we wind our way through the parenting journey!"

 

~ Caroline Stalling, parent

 

"Our staff attended a training session yesterday with JESSICA FLOWERS. If you know her, you know why I have her name in all caps! An extraordinary woman who cares deeply about the children who will be our future, in one sentence she showed us that children learn from those around them from the moment of their conception.

 

"Since we are all different, as children grow they learn differently. Some are missing skills because they were never taught. As adults we expect them to "know better." Wow, just a look at how you talk with children can change your world! That's why Jessica is going all over making ripples across our children's educational centers. Keep it up, Jessica, and for those who get an opportunity to hear her, LISTEN AND PRACTICE IT! After listening to Jessica, I'm looking forward anew to each day we have to touch a life."

 

~ Nikki Stewart, director, Stepping Stones Academy

 

"Jessica gives us simple, measurable guidelines and answers
our questions every time we meet. She’s a wonderful resource for my husband and me; we don’t feel we’re alone in this parenting thing."

 

~ Terry Haas, parent

 

"It was great seeing Jessica at the conference in Myrtle Beach. I loved her Friday session and wish all my colleagues could have attended! Thank you, Jessica, for making me not only a better teacher, but a better wife and mother. Your ripples are growing and I am advocating more for the change we need to see in the world, beginning with a change within me! Thank you a million times."

 

~ Stephanie Atkinson, teacher and parent

 

"Sessions with Jessica include discussions about concrete,
everyday struggles with our children, how to handle them, and celebrating parenting success!"

 

~ Bonnie Scapellato, parent

 

"Jessica coaches me into more intentional, positive methods
of parenting."

 

~ Victoria Goins, parent

 

"My husband and I had our three kids in less than two years; needless to say, our home can be chaotic at times. Jessica's parenting class and the Conscious Discipline methodology has given us some more tools for our tool kit to approach parenting when times are particularly nutty. Most importantly, I feel like I have a better understanding of how their little brains work, what motivates them, and what things evoke particular emotions. I am hopeful that we are raising emotionally intelligent kids who will be responsible for their choices down the road.

 

"Jessica also provided invaluable advice and guidance last year when one of my children was asked to take a 'break' from his preschool program for biting. As parents we were very concerned about this behavior, but we were at a loss as to how to help our child stop biting classmates! Jessica met with me and my husband one evening at our home and reviewed some activities and consequences we could put in place to end the biting behavior. With Jessica's guidance, she also helped us see that the preschool program was not the right fit for our child, and she helped us research other preschool options for our child. Today, our child is in an age appropriate, stimulating learning environment and does not bite his classmates!"

 

~ Anonymous

 

"In the Fall of 2010, my husband and I were facing a tremendous amount of stress due to the financial crisis which plagued so much of the country and impacted so many families in so many ways. We regrettably had to move from the dream home we built, into a rental home, we had a brand new baby (January of 2010), and a 5 year old son who was demonstrating behavior that was as unbalanced as we were due to all the stress in the home. We heard about Conscious Discipline through our older child’s preschool, and I reached out to Jessica for private sessions in our home, to coach, guide, and lead us to positive discipline and effective communication skills with our children.

 

"All of the tools that Jessica gave us through her teaching methods, activity sheets, and reading assignments, brought us full circle, not only as a couple, but as parents, who could now successfully speak to our children “using the same language” when reacting to our children’s behaviors. Even now, in July of 2013, we still refer to our sessions with Jessica in conversations, which we had completed in January of 2011. We still use our phrases and provide our children with choices and options when we need to redirect their behavior into something positive, versus negative. We are not perfect parents, and when we begin to yell, we try to reign it back in and start over.

 

"Jessica is talented and she took a vested interest in our success. She was a tangible reinforcement and so very encouraging that we could achieve success. She was instrumental on so many levels, it’s difficult to relay all the influence she had on us and the impact in our lives, with our children, and with each other. In many ways, I feel that her counseling helps couples communicate with each other, in addition to with their own children.

 

"As our "baby" is now approaching 4 years old, we find ourselves often referring to the hands on tools Jessica gave us, for him to express his frustration, think about his responses to us, and offering him choices and options for what he chooses to do. We are seeing success once again, and our 8 year old continues to respond to the language of Conscious Discipline as well."

 

~ Anonymous

 

"As a single mother, my family dynamic faces different challenges than most of my peers. Jessica has helped me use the Conscious Discipline skills to continue to love and raise my daughter as is best for her and her development. Jessica’s constant support instills the confidence in me to be the parent my daughter deserves. I am so thankful for her!"

 

~ Bailey Sullivan, parent

 

"I have had the great privilege to know and work with Jessica through our link with Conscious Discipline. Jessica presents well with teachers because she has been a teacher and knows what "our world" is like. She is able to give pertinent examples and suggestions for folks in the classroom. She is, by far, the best one-on-one coach I have ever encountered. Jessica is able to see what the areas of need are for someone and gently lead them to their own realization through questioning and reflecting. What a gift Jessica is to parents and educators. I hope you will make use of this gift and enrich your own world."

 

~ Kay Dixon, kindergarten teacher

 

"Jessica's wise and warm techniques have enabled me to feel confident about how to handle my children. I came to her feeling confused and unsure about how to discipline. She has shown me how to approach these times with love and patience, thereby creating an opportunity to teach and bond, and not to simply rule by fear. In fact, the Conscious Discipline® philosophy applies very well to all relationships—including friendships and marriages.  Moreover, Jessica is fun to get to know and a joy to be around. She has helped our entire family in our mastery of the very important art of self-control and being conscious of our actions."

 

~ Katharine Hastie, parent

 

"Our school has been richly blessed by the Conscious Discipline® training that Jessica Shields Flowers provided for our staff. Our early childhood teachers have found this classroom management technique to be effective and empowering. The atmosphere that Conscious Discipline® fosters is positive, creative and caring.  Jessica is an amazing facilitator who employs a multi-faceted approach to her workshops. She uses music, language, games and well organized plans to engage the participants. This program has changed our method of behavior management significantly. We can see the response of our children and that they recognize that their school is a safe place where care and love abound."

~ Sue Henderson, Director of Second Presbyterian Kindergarten

 

View a video about Jessica Shields Flowers' work with Second Presbyterian Kindergarten!

 

"After experiencing Jessica Shields Flowers' positive discipline sessions as parents, my husband and I learned that we had to first start with our own behavior. We learned to look for positive intentions and respond with caring and loving hearts.

 

"The step process of the training allowed us to see where we made different choices in interacting with our children in the past, but did not cause us to feel badly about ourselves. We became much more patient and were able to see choices in every conflict with our children: choices in how we chose to interact and choices to give the children so they felt more in control of themselves.

 

"Now that our children are teenagers, we find that the philosophy of Conscious Discipline® is even more important, as they are much more independent thinkers and are able to make unsupervised choices. We also see our two older children interacting with these principles with our two younger children. The philosophy is really a life discipline: once it is learned, it is something that an individual will want to continue."

~ Jon and Nicole Dudas, parents

 

"Jessica Shields Flowers is a visionary with a heart for children and their parents. The quality and thoroughness of her work is exceptional. I would highly recommend Jessica in her capacity of founder of Ripple. I think we should all give thanks that Jessica is back in the early childhood field with her God-given talents! You would do well to have Jessica as a consultant for any of your children and family needs."

~ Nancy Peddle, Founder of the LemonAid Fund

 

"There are many great early education administrators who are not great educators, and many great educators who aren't able to grasp the critical aspects of early childhood education administration. Ripple's Jessica Shields Flowers is the rare commodity who can see the global strategic vision of an entire preschool or childcare and still pull a child into her lap to share a snuggle, poke a straw into a stubborn juice box, and express sincere joy at a child's latest discovery. This skill, like Jessica herself, is invaluable—and so uncommon.

 

"As the parent of children who attended a school under Jessica's direction, I can tell you there is no greater feeling a parent can have than to be safe in the knowledge that her child's education is unfolding under the masterful vision of Jessica Shields Flowers. She is connected, expertly, at every level in early education—from her in-depth knowledge of early childhood development, recruiting and staff training, board development and fundraising, and managing and mentoring parents to making the success of each child as paramount in importance as the success of the school itself.

 

"On a personal level, Jessica brings the most delightful and endearing personality to all her projects: equal parts genius, teacher, mentor, coach, mother, and unrelenting field general... she is both a consummate professional and indispensible advisor."

~ Adrienne Alberts, Founder of The Angel's Network

 

"Jessica pushed me to excellence in teaching and made me defend everything I taught with good reasons. Then she supported me 100%."

~  Judith Montacute, early childhood teacher

 

“We loved our early childhood parenting class with Ripple's Jessica Shields Flowers. She gave us tools we could use right away and a common vocabulary for helping our children learn to solve conflicts. She has has a progressive knowledge of early childhood education, and she cares deeply about children and families.

 

"Now, almost a decade later, we still use techniques we learned through our preschool class... and definitely feel Jessica helped us create a strong family culture of support!"

~ Judy and Reggie Fairchild, parents

 

"I've served as director of a preschool for the past three years, and I have had the pleasure of Jessica Shields Flowers’ acquaintance for two of those years. During that time, I have called her on several occasions to seek professional counsel. Whether the issues were related to early education management techniques or children's developmental concerns, she has always been available to listen attentively and she has consistently responded not only with professionalism but with empathy. Following our conversations, I would often receive a helpful article, website address, and words of encouragement from her. It's comforting to know that Jessica is just a phone call or mouse click away!"

~ Lara Davis, Director of First Presbyterian Weekday School

 

"The years at VBCC with Jessica Shields Flowers are truly among my best mothering memories. She was incredibly supportive, mentoring us when we really had no other women to go to but our mothers. Of course, most of our mothers raised us in the ways of the '70s, so Jessica's accepting, child-centered perspective was very empowering and non-judgmental. I learned so much during those years."

~ Kim Koster Gatchel, parent

 

"I had the privilege of working with Jessica Shields Flowers in Virginia. She has a unique ability to create a loving, nurturing environment where all can grow. As the consummate educator, Jessica excelled in managing our NAEYC-accredited preschool, hiring and training the highest quality staff, and developing programs to educate and nurture families... but she never forgot that her highest priority was the children. She could recognize gifts in children that others could not see, and she had the ability to bring out the very best in the staff, too.

 

"By providing training opportunities, mentoring, and a ready shoulder, Jessica helped each staff member recognize and celebrate their gifts as well. Not only did I benefit as a teacher but I gained valuable skills and support as a mother of four children. Along the way, I've learned many life lessons but I often say the best lessons I learned were the ones I learned in preschool. Thank you, Jessica!"

~ Cory Summers Epperson, Financial Administrator, Vienna Baptist Children's Center

 

"Energetic, motivational, enthusiastic presenter who incorporates comedy and real life experiences to actively engage child care providers in the understanding of the social and emotional development of young children."

~ Carletta S. Isreal, Executive Director, Williamsburg County First Steps

 

"Listening to Jessica Shields Flowers share the VBCC philosophy left me with the dizzying feeling that I had stumbled upon a neuroscientist / psychologist / philosopher: a big thinker who gives big hugs, in whom to entrust my child."

~ Claudia Bonin, parent

 

 

Conscious Discipline® is a registered trademark of Loving Guidance™ Inc., (800) 842-2846.