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StarLogo TNG is similar to Scratch, perhaps a little bit less intuitive, but it's 3-D and lets you do some pretty cool stuff. I'm a bit biased, because I worked on StarLogo TNG, but not biased enough that I won't admit that Khan Academy has by far the best programming tool for kids I've seen so far. I can't say enough good things about it.
I've gone through most of the lessons and while they do a really good job of breaking coding concepts down into real world scenarios involving dogs and tennis balls.
I think they also provide live chat based help if you pay extra.
We're also creating a curriculum to integrate it directly in elementary schools.
Email me if you'd like a coupon code for the IAP (jon at surfscore)
If you're in the NYC area, you should come to our next CoderDojo session (free programming classes for kids, I'm the NYC co-founder): http://coderdojonyc.com/ If you're somewhere else, definitely take a look at http://coderdojo.com/ and see if there is any Dojo near you.
Awesome idea. What languages do you teach?
I always thought the game "lightbot" might be good as part of a intro course. http://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot
This is not a website, but my kids LOVED The Art of Computer Programming (1st edition, when they still had the Maurice Sendak illustrations). The pictures in the volume on Sorting and Searching, though, are not recommended for kids under the age of 9.
I always thought the game "lightbot" might be good as part of a intro course. http://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot
If you're in the NYC area, you should come to our next CoderDojo session (free programming classes for kids, I'm the NYC co-founder): http://coderdojonyc.com/ If you're somewhere else, definitely take a look at http://coderdojo.com/ and see if there is any Dojo near you.
FYI - this page is throwing an error http://coderdojonyc.com/volunteer/ Awesome idea. What languages do you teach?
We've taught everything from CSS to HTML to JS to Scratch to AppInventor (Android App Dev). We welcome kids from 7 - 17 yrs old (and their parents of course).
I first learned some programming being 8 year old and typing BASIC programs in an editor. Somewhat surprisingly, I think it was easier to get started then than it is now, BASIC was then included among the initial program set of the computer, complete with an IDE and if you ever got to that level it included graphics routines etc. and everything was described in a single book. I now have been seriously programming for…