If it was my kid, I'd use any single board computer or an old laptop (pro: integrated keyboard and screen, e.g. Dell D630), and install a Linux that boots strai

If it was my kid, I'd use any single board computer or an old laptop (pro: integrated keyboard and screen, e.g. Dell D630), and install a Linux that boots straight into QB64: https://www.qb64.org/ https://www.qb64.org/ I didn't test if it runs in pure Linux text mode, but if possible that's what I'd use.