Typing in listings to learn. (Score 1)

This brings back memories for me. I started out on an Apple IIe typing out program listings from books as a kid. Just a few ideas about techniques which you might be able to use which worked for me as a kid. First of all find a program listing in a book somewhere which does something which captures their imagination and doesn't include to many advanced coding techniques. (I learnt Turbo Pascal from typing in an adventure game.) Get them to type in listings. When the listing is done help them debug it. During this time they will have picked up a good bit of knowledge about syntax (even if they don't know what syntax is!) and flow control and everything else. The goal here is not so much completeness of knowledge but breadth of knowledge. You are trying to turn them on to the possibilities of the language so that they have something to aim for. Of course this probably depends a good bit on the age of your kids (I was roughly 10 when I started programming, a fairly late starter) and what their learning style is. Obviously it may make sense to intersperse this technique I am suggesting with others such as the small things first, slow build up, "hello world" approach. Anyway hope this helps. I don't really know what language I would suggest learning first. Perhaps you could give them a choice between different languages? (Setup demos? I'm clueless really!)