Concerned about the declining amount of science, history, art, and music taught in public schools as a result of the era of high-stakes testing ushered in by the No Child Left Behind legislation, educator and parent Leslie Madsen-Brooks vowed to find a way to bring those subjects to K-8 students—and to her own young son. She began scouring bookstores for age-appropriate activity books but was dismayed to find bland, boring books that asked students to trace letters and numbers, draw lines among similar objects, and color within the lines. Worse, the shelves in bookstores were packed with activity books featuring branded characters—and Leslie wasn’t interested in training her son to be a consumer of mass culture at such a young age.
Accordingly, in 2008, she began Learning Trails Media as a resource for parents and teachers who want to supplement their children’s or students’ education with progressive educational opportunities in these increasingly overlooked disciplines. Learning Trails Media is creating a series of themed activity books that emphasize creativity, critical thinking, and free-choice learning. Activity books under development feature Mexican folk art, sustainable foodways, and climate change. The activity books will be available individually or by age-appropriate subscription. The first books will be published in late fall 2008. In fall 2009, Learning Trails Media will debut a forum for progressive parents and teachers who want to collaborate on and swap ideas about progressive educational interventions and remediations.
Learning Trails Media is a production of TerraFirma Creative Group.