Here’s a nice article called Teaching Kids to Program (or Don’t Try to Teach 8-Year-Olds Java Subclassing) featuring Nathan Torkington who taught children programming in a New Zealand school.
Again there’s a strong message of just getting stuck in but also some good recommendations for starting out:
- Lectures don’t work – short and sweet then let them get on and explore
- They don’t have math skills
- Girls are more advanced
- Most kids can’t type
- Follow their interests
- Help them to maintain their attention
As you can see I’ve bolded the bit about typing, ignore this at your peril!
