I started programming around 5th or 6th grade with a language called Kids Programming Language or Phrogram it was sort of like an Actionscript-y language. When

I started programming around 5th or 6th grade with a language called Kids Programming Language or Phrogram it was sort of like an Actionscript-y language. When I was younger I always found it really frustrating to use Scratch and I think that using that more realistic coding environment helped me build my foundation of skills as I learned the basics of syntax, branching, booleans, loops and debugging. I think syntax errors, reading coding and structuring code are all core skills that a young programmer should learn which I think these visual languages hide. I personally recommend teaching kids with a more realistic but visual language like Processing.js: https://p5js.org/ https://p5js.org/ It allows them to stay motivated by making games or other visual projects but it provides the realistic experience of programming in a more simplified language. There's also some great books and resources to teach out of like https://p5js.org/books/ https://p5js.org/books/ and http://learningprocessing.com/ http://learningprocessing.com/