We’ve talked a lot about the importance of literacy on this blog and how traditional children’s leisure activities (like reading a good book, for example) are on the decline in today’s digital playground.

That being said, children’s literacy scored a major victory this past weekend thanks to the release of the final Harry Potter book. Kids in all English-speaking nations turned off their TVs and logged off the Internet to hunker down with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was released this past Saturday morning at midnight.

Not that the popularity of the final Harry Potter book is that surprising. After all, the Harry Potter books are one of the biggest series ever. What is surprising, however, is that the book release and subsequent fan-demonium occurred only a mere week after the release of the fifth Harry Potter movie, The Order of the Phoenix.

Now, if we look at children’s recreational trends of the past few years, all signs should have indicated that the MOVIE would be more popular. After all, movies are part of the media-literate vernacular right along with iPods, video games, text messaging, computers, etc.

But, for one weekend, kids unplugged and the more traditional, and decidedly un-digital, activity of reading reigned in popularity.

Fans of all ages lined up in bookstores at midnight to buy the book and be the first on their block to find out what happens to Harry Potter and friends. In fact, this past weekend was a record-breaker in Canadian book sales.

Maybe the record-breaking weekend for reading happened because the book is the last in the much-loved series and has been promoted since JK Rowling announced the finale. Or maybe it was because it was the second weekend of the movie, but in either case, whatever gets children excited about reading and looking forward to reading is a good thing.

For the sake of children’s literacy everywhere, I hope that Rowling reconsiders and continues working her unique brand of literary magic—a magic that gets kids excited about reading.

Sand in your bathing suit, in your hair, in your sleeping bag…and in your keyboard?

Camping, to this generation’s children, is not what it used to be. Camping has changed so much over the years that wireless connection is now listed as a basic service at many campgrounds across North America. Electrical hook up, firewood, bathroom facilities, and now, wi-fi.

Call me old-fashioned, but I thought that the purpose of camping was to get away from it all—to reconnect with nature, and to be unavailable; disconnected, and to get back to nature.

The evolution (or de-evolution as the case may be) of summertime childhood activity is a popular subject these days. Kids spend more time than ever inside watching TV, playing video games, surfing the net. There are more than a few articles circulating in the media about what this means to traditional childhood, not to mention what all the plugged-in indoor time means to learning habits and social interaction.

Childhood is an ever-evolving landscape, but unfortunately, the new technologies and changing lifestyles are eroding traditional summer pastimes such as playing hide and seek, stargazing, bike riding, building tree houses, hopscotch…and camping.

The campsite is a place to get back to nature and re-discover how to long hours doing nothing more than using the imagination to keep amused. It’s a place to disconnect, to unplug, and to learn the simple pleasures that a childhood summer can bring.

Link: The Globe and Mail

A good word to know, and a particularly relevant word today, is: triskaidekaphobia.

Do you have this kind of phobia? You probably do if you are superstitious; triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, or the fear of Friday the 13th. It just so happens that that is today’s date—a fact that you would be more than aware of if you happen to be triskaidekaphobic.

Link: Reference.com—word of the day