About Ready Set Go Outside
Ready Set Go Outside offers child centered programs for ages 2 to 13 in outdoor settings where children can safely explore with their senses, sing, read, build, practice mindfulness, write, dig, socialize, garden, exercise, relax, play with water, create, carve, and sculpt.
Hours of Operation: Monday- Friday except holiday closings
Summer Camp
School Year
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Academics
Philosophy and Goals
Children are designed to learn best through play. Our world begins small consisting of ourselves and our caregivers. As our brain grows, our learning grows, and our world grows larger. The best settings allow for children to safely explore the world immediately around them so that they can learn to manage risks, and gain skills and experience. This is important to their physical development, brain development, and social/emotional development. We all learn better when we are interested and involved. Hands on/experiential activities that are created through child interest are the most lasting educational tools. Learning through play is the most effective technique to creating lifelong learners. Ready Set Go Outside strives to provide open ended settings for children to learn about their immediate environment to build awareness and self esteem without the distractions of modern technology.
Ready Set Go Outside will offer children an opportunity to create their own learning environment. Children will explore areas in their community through hiking, writing, reading, ponding, tidepooling, building, listening, singing, observing, digging, creating and socializing. The tools used to enhance learning activities will be found in the forest or reused and recycled from the community. Teachers will facilitate child led learning experiences where children are free to be who they are. No lining up. No testing. No electronics. No ads… just exploration of the natural world where teachers observe, advise on safety and offer knowledge of natural habitats. Children hardly need any guidance in learning as they are natural learners. Teachers will observe skills and growth and provide evidence of learning.
The main goals will be to guide children in:
- creating a strong sense of self
- developing independent learning skills
- cultivating enthusiasm and curiosity through sensory experiences
- building skills to handle challenging situations
- becoming socially confident in an unstructured setting
- exploring ways to become helpful members of community
- emotional regulation and happiness
Spending time outside is important for health. Our biology requires sunshine to make Vitamin D which is important for physical health and helps improve our mood. Children who play outside are more likely to get cardiovascular exercise which is key to physical and mental wellbeing. It greatly decreases the likelihood of developing heart disease and diabetes while strengthening bone health.
Children need time in unstructured settings to learn skills for navigating social situations as well as spending time alone to reset and reflect. Children who spend all day in school, then daycare, then home for dinner will not gain independent skills effectively. “Forest bathing” has proven to increase immune system response as well as decrease anxiety and depression which are becoming prevalent in young generations.
Changing seasons and weather provide new challenges that aid in brain growth. Children naturally use cognitive thinking skills during outdoor play while increasing their creativity and imagination from the open-ended possibilities. Spending more time outside improves attention spans and reduces stress.
Being outside in winter presents a different type of group setting where germs are not as easily passed along. There isn’t a need for sanitizing the play area the way there is in a classroom. Children are exposed to fresh cold air which improves their immune function. Wide open spaces decrease germ sharing as opposed to the increased exposure in indoor environments in the winter where bacteria and viruses are more likely to grow as windows and doors stay closed for the season.
Exposure to gardening increases children’s knowledge about healthy foods and encourages tasting new flavors. Children are much more likely to eat a food they picked themselves. Fresh garden fruits and vegetables have more flavor than store bought produce which increases the likelihood of children enjoying healthy foods. Another benefit is developing a sense of responsibility. If plants do not get the basic requirements, then they do not thrive or even survive. Children learn there is a relationship between their actions and the outcomes of growing food.
Mixed age groups facilitate more social learning. Children learn kindness, cooperation and responsibility when grouped with younger and older children. They increase their capacity for empathy and consideration when navigating relationships with children of various ages. They are motivated by the skills they see being used by children who have mastered them which in turn motivates them to become teachers or helpers to children who have not mastered the skills that they currently have. Teachers will observe children trying new roles and coping skills as the younger, middle or older child in a group setting.
Meet the Founder
Marisa Tobey (Owner/Director) graduated from University of Maine at Machias with a degree in Environmental Education and a passion for working with children outdoors. She has worked for several environmental camps such as Nature’s Classroom and Massachusetts Audubon Society. She expanded her love of teaching natural science while working for Cape Cod Discovery Museum and Green Briar Nature Center leading programs for children and teachers, attending courses in education and recreation, and networking with Massachusetts environmentalists. Marisa returned to Maine in 2001 and put her skills to work in the early childhood field at a large daycare center where she implemented a recycling program and science enrichment activities for 4 of the centers in the company. In 2006 Marisa started her own small, eco-friendly center in Freeport and enjoyed raising her children with other like-minded families.
She is passionate about the environment and spending time in natural settings for awareness and wellness. Her natural science background includes studies in ornithology, marine biology, plant identification, wetland ecology, mycology, edible plants, gardening, composting, herpetology, environmental science and entomology. Her early childhood background consists of over 20 years of experience working directly with children, educational psychology and child care courses. She has completed the Maine Guide Course at LL Bean and canoeing instructor training at Zoar Outdoor.
