What people say about Galoop

Going to Galoop the highlight of our week! The morning program offers plenty of time to play and connect with friends; crafts and activities; and a gorgeous outdoor play area. Cecilia has achieved the rare balance of providing the warmth, structure and consistency that toddlers thrive on, but also enough new crafts, activities, and discussion topics each week to keep things varied and interesting.

Galoop, located in Brookline/Newton border, is a home away from home for my two granddaughters. The light-filled space is simply amazing and the rotating set of high-quality material and arts and crafts keeps them engaged. But more than anything what I love about the program is the community and environment that Cecilia has built. For me it’s a place where I feel at ease. For my granddaughters, it’s a place where they can be independent and comfortable exploring their own limits: there’s no anxiety here 🙂 The space is familiar to them, they both simply love Cecilia and the afternoon teachers, and all the children and caregivers are familiar faces to them. We feel so fortunate to be part of Galoop!

Galoop in Chestnut Hill is one of our children’s favorite activities. Not only because their time is happily spent going from a grocery cart with a baby doll, to an art station with an easel to paint, to a sensory table, and then to play at the kitchen making soup, but because Cecilia is present.
Cecilia Matson brings an incomparable warmth, energy, and focus to her teaching. She cares deeply about each and every child and caregiver in her classes; and her positive energy is contagious. Cecilia is a bright light in parenting, offering valuable support so you can grow right alongside your growing children. Thank you, Cecilia!

My little son and I first met Cecilia when he was 5 months old, right after we moved from abroad and found ourselves alone in this new city. We joined Galoop to meet other Moms and babies and we loved it! Ante is always so happy during class, he loves the parachute and the storytelling, and I get wonderful advice from Cecilia.  I would recommend Galoop to Mommies and their little ones with all my heart! Thank you, Galoop, for being the highlight of our week!

Having worked with Cecilia Matson for over a decade at the Brazelton Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital in her roles as clinician, teacher and researcher, I can say that she truly appreciates and understands the emotional and learning needs of young children and how to support their growth and development.  Moreover, her approach to working with parents shows the same inclusiveness, the same respect and the same non-judgmental and supportive stance. She appreciates the full range of individual differences in children, their different temperaments and learning styles, their unique cultural world view, their values and their strengths

Having known Cecilia since 1996 when she was a graduate student and my advisee at Tufts University’s Child Development Department, I have long recognized her unique talents. Cecilia employs a distinctive, comprehensive perspective that elucidates child rearing and education of young children in a cultural context. Her practice at Galoop exemplifies that perspective enriched by her knowledge and sensitivity – indispensable to understanding families’ diverse values and guiding them to foster the optimal development of their children. Thank you, Cecilia, for your contribution to our discipline and your accomplishments in support of children and their parents

We couldn’t feel any luckier to have found Galoop! We have had the pleasure of watching our daughter thrive in this warm, nurturing community and Cecilia has done an incredible job of ensuring that feeling is not lost in her virtual program. Each week has a thoughtful theme, circle time is vibrant and interactive, and every activity is carefully planned, which goes a long way in helping us continue our daughter’s education and enrichment at home. As a true testament to how she has far exceeded expectations, Cecilia has even provided us with bags of supplies and video tutorials to help execute these amazing activities. Cecilia has also been an invaluable resource to us as parents, helping us tackle challenges and stay positive, providing us with other resources, and regularly checking in on how our family is doing. We can’t wait to get back to Galoop in person, but in the meantime this is the very best case scenario.

Galoop’s virtual program really helps me ground our daily schedule and circle time is one Josie’s favorite parts of the day! She’s dancing with scarves and sunglasses, singing and signing, playing under and on the parachute, sitting on the blanket for story time, and popping bubbles before saying goodbye to her friends. The consistency of seeing teacher Cecilia and her school friends every morning has been really helpful during this challenging time. And we LOVE the suggested curriculum for home: every morning Josie asks what our “project” is going to be as soon as she wakes up. I am not a particularly “crafty” mom, but with the video guidance and the Galoop material bags the setup for the crafts has always taken me less than 5 minutes 🙂 

We can’t wait to get back to Galoop in person but we are both so happy to have the virtual program in our lives. Thank you Cecilia!

I have been so impressed by how Cecilia has handled the transition to online classes during social distancing.  She has maintained the warmth, support, and fun activities that make Galoop so special.  The online circle time is so interactive and fun that it is engaging for both my two and four year old.  It is wonderful to have an activity that both of my girls love and have fun doing together.  I am so thankful that Cecilia was able to transition Galoop to an online format that works for young kids!

My daughter Matilda has been attending Galoop for the past couple of years and the transition to virtual Galoop has been seamless. Keeping the same routine and consistency has been key, and my daughter asks to see Cecilia every day. She dances to all of the songs, loves “parachute” play (we use a blanket!), and looks forward to story time at the end. I love that my daughter gets to see her friends and their caregivers everyday. We also engage in experiential learning at our own time doing projects that Cecilia has carefully put together every week. These projects allow for creativity and motor skill development. As a specialist in child development, Cecilia is a great resource for parents as well, and we truly appreciate her recommendations to keep our daughter healthy and happy during these trying times

To say my daughter and I “look forward” to our weekly class with Cecilia is a major understatement! When we enrolled in our first class with Cecilia I realized the difference it makes when you have an exceptional instructor teaching your child and the benefits it has for both the child and caregiver. Cecilia is warm, intelligent, professional and most importantly, fun! Her lesson plans always provide a variety of exciting ways for the children to learn and explore the world around them – including song, sensory play, and interaction with peers. The class continues at home as my daughter loves to sing the songs we learn from Cecilia or read stories Cecilia reads to the group. Overall, a wonderful program with a truly special instructor. We will eagerly look forward to many more Cecilia’s classes!!!

My 2 years old daughter has always enjoyed going to Galoop, but now with the new morning program the joy is bigger – for her and for me! I have met moms, grannies, dads and nannies that are so nice and sharing conversations with them about parenting is fun and fruitful. The routines and preschool-like environment are great for the kids and the parenting advice weekly received by Cecilia is super helpful. Both my husband and I attended a new baby arrival workshop and that was also great. We received very valuable advice and just after taking that course we sleep trained our 2 years old successfully. As an international and multilingual family is really great to be part of Galoop’s community and we are so grateful to Cecilia and her team.

I met Cecilia in 1999 at the Brazelton Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital where she was a research associate and trainer on the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Cecilia’s love for babies and their families, her calm demeanor, kindness and ability to put parents immediately at ease were a pleasure to watch at work. Combined with her knowledge on child development, Cecilia was a great resource for all of us. It is no surprise to me to see her success at Galoop and to witness the high quality of care and level of creativity offered in her classes. I would highly recommend all families of little ones to join Cecilia at Galoop where they will find expert parenting support, community building, and high quality developmentally appropriate experiences for their child

Galoop is a place where my daughter and I both feel supported and comfortable … and both of us have a lot of fun! It has also been incredibly valuable for me to talk with Cecilia each week about parenting. Whether my questions are about sleep, food, motor development, or behaviors, Cecilia always either reassures me or finds a solution that works for us.

I’ve known Cecilia for over 3 years, I took classes with her with my first and then again as a second time mom. There are many options for music classes or storytimes, but nothing like Cecilia’s program. I really can’t say enough good things about her, she is truly amazing, kind, energetic, friendly, professional, and you can just tell that she genuinely loves what she does. She’s a great teacher/facilitator and her classes have the perfect amount of structure while still feeling very relaxed. She always plans lots of fun age appropriate activities (songs, homemade playdough, paint, sensory table activities, water play, books, bubbles, and much more) and has helpful advice to share for any parenting or developmental issues/concerns. I really look forward to taking my daughters to her class every week!

Cecilia is wonderful! She is such kind and nurturing person and her enthusiasm engages my daughter every week. In addition to creating a stimulating class for the children, she brings a wealth of experience to assist the parents. I’ve been able to talk to her about different stages of my daughter’s development and she’s given me great advice. Cecilia is truly one of the best!

I was immediately drawn to Cecilia’s warm, encouraging manner and her ability to converse with young children. Motherhood was a tough transition for me and Cecilia’s class offers reassuring advice and inspires us with great activities to try at home. Coming to Galoop is the high point in our week.

Galoop classes are always relaxed, fun and engaging.  Cecilia not only has wonderful activities for the children to do but she is a loving and nurturing presence in class. There is no better critic than my 2 year old son and he loves his time at Galoop!

Galoop classes are fun for both caregivers and kids alike!  It is SO clear that my daughter feels confident and comfortable exploring and learning, and as a parent, there is little better than that!

My son and I love taking Cecilia’s classes. She is very warm and nurturing and makes it a priority to listen to individual concerns. She is also great at engaging the children’s attention and they respond with interest.

Cecilia’s combination of knowledge, wisdom, and kindness provide for a wonderful mix of skills to help guide parents through their children’s exciting but sometimes stressful early years.