The Evil Genius book series is fantastic!! I took a class in college (Build your Evil Robot Army) that was designed around this book. It teaches the basic concepts of circuits, digital logic, computer programming, and robotics. It isn't really a kit, but it includes parts lists for everything needed. When I completed the course (we did about 45~50 experiments from the book, approx part cost was 150 bux) I had enough knowledge that I was bored outa mind in a Fundamentals of Electronics course I took at a different college. IF you are looking for a good start I highly suggest checking out this book, it is funny, smart, very informative, and well rounded. Oh it also makes you do all the math involved. I also suggest getting a bread board and learning to solder (its not hard at all, don't buy a cold heat gun, they suck), always test your circuits before you solder them or else you get the fun task of removing solder. http://www.amazon.com/123-Robotics-Experiments-Evil-Genius/dp/0071413588