I would stay away from Maxwell's equations unless doing something to which they're truly relevant (designing an antenna or something I guess, maybe building a r

I would stay away from Maxwell's equations unless doing something to which they're truly relevant (designing an antenna or something I guess, maybe building a rail gun if you're into that). Maybe I'm blinded by the years I spent as a computational electrodynamics researcher but the model is a little heavyweight for your standard hobby project. That said I really like your suggestion of starting with basic mechanics and thermodynamics. "Resistors get hot, motors do work, and capaciductors are like springs" goes a long way to tie everything else together