We took a Signing Up class with our 14-month old son and are so pleased with what we learned. We'd been using a few signs at home ("more", "all done", "milk") but before we took the Signing Up class, we hadn't been able to see that our son was making the signs back to us. In the class we learned that his motions were approximations of the signs we were teaching him and learned how to respond to encourage him to continue to develop his signs. Since we took the class, we've been incorporating what we learned and have seen tremendous skill development already. Our son's sometimes whines are getting replaced with signed requests-- it's amazing to see the pleasure on his face when he realizes that his sign has communicated so much more than his emerging sounds have. We'd tried DVDs at home but had given up as they seemed hokey and didn't answer our questions. One class with Signing Up was a much better learning experience for all three of us. Our teacher was Melissa and we found her energetic, clear, helpful and very skilled at maneuvering between adult-centered instruction and songs and games to keep the kids in class engaged. read more

We had a great experience with the Signing Up class we took with Melissa. Our 11 month old quickly picked up the signs we were using with her after the workshop. Within a couple of weeks she was using signs for Milk, drink, eat and diaper. It was great to see the joy on her face when she signed for drink and was instantly given her cup! The satisfaction of being able to communicate her needs was great. IT was also really helpful to see Melissa's videos of other babies signing. We were able to identify our daughters signs which were slightly different than what we signed to her - so it was good to know what to look for or we might have missed it! read more

Taking this workshop was a great experience. Melissa seemed very knowledgable and shared concrete ways of using sign with my 10 month baby. I have only begun but hope that it will be useful. She taught us songs that I was able to remember that will help teach my baby sign Melissa was engaging and very sweet to all the mothers and babies in the class. It was a great experience and i recommend it anyone with a baby. read more

We had an amazing experience with Melissa. I had first gotten in touch with her through her website/email, and she answered patiently and promptly to my numerous questions (rates, bilingual families, babies of various ages, availability...). I hosted the workshop in my apt, with my husband, our 9 months old twin girls, and with a couple of friends and their 6 months old son. We all enjoyed the workshop very much. Melissa was very engaging. She knows how to mix theory and practice. I was impressed with how our babies were immediately fascinated with her, and how she managed to make eye contact with them. I also appreciated the real life examples she provided, and the videos she showed us. I think the workshop is of the right length: I didn't feel overwhelmed with a load of information, but on the contrary, I felt I had just what I need to start signing with my babies. I would definitely recommend taking this workshop with Melissa. read more

Melissa came over to a friend's apartment and did a workshop for 5 moms with our babies. They class was excellent! She was so down-to-earth and easygoing. She answered all of our questions and taught us the basic signs but went through the more advanced stuff as well. She also sang songs with signing and kept the babies engaged as much as possible. She gave us handouts and all of the information was in there to take home. It was a wonderful experience and I know all of the other moms felt the same way. read more