Session by Florian. Written by @NarigoDF.
While we talked a bit about how to get kids into programming, we did not really find a great answer to how to keep them interested.
- code.org seems to be a good resource to learn programming
- Codecombat is one of the "learn to code" games
- Showing kids how to cheat in clicker games like Candy box 2 gets them interested in learning JavaScript: "How did you do that!?"
As I don't have kids myself, I've tried to remember what drove me to programming: Learning how to create a computer game / text adventure by using the commands I new in DOS for example. Navigating was done more or less by switching directories of the game. Maybe it isn't too bad if you don't know so much as a child. You get more creative through the limitations you face and you don't know how much work you really have to do if you learn along the way...!