aib

I volunteer at a CoderDojo in Istanbul. We currently teach 7-11 year olds, though we had a 6-year-old for a few months and she fit in nicely.

Actually, ours is more of a Maker dojo; we do electronics and more classical kids' activities as well, depending on their interests at the time.

For all its shortcomings, Scratch has been the cornerstone of our program. I strongly recommend giving it a try and see where it takes your kid.

For a 6 year old and as a mobile app, Scratch Jr. might be more appropriate. It's usually what we suggest younger siblings (4-6) to try. We've also used it successfully in the past as a stepping stone.

Then there's App Inventor, block based and very similar to Scratch, which lets you create Android applications. We have some older kids (12, 13) making money off Play Store :)

Consider joining a Coder Dojo. Also consider founding one yourself.

(Sorry if this is too concise. I'm tired and on mobile)

Lost me at "standard piece of 8.5 x 11in piece of paper".

Nothing in that phrase is standard!

No, there's no mangling of data (apart from HTTP which gets injected with a RST flagged packet once in a while)

Well, yes, but awkward clients are still clients (read: people who give you money). Some of the consequences of the mentioned effect are that you may be forced to work with awkward clients or employers, or make otherwise awkward decisions.