I would like to begin my kids education of programming. 2 of the 5 are fairly interested and one is adamant about the opportunity. This is not surprising since this is about 70% of what they see me do (the other 30% is play games with them and eat - sleep is out of the question since i go down after they do and rise long before them as well).

Their ages are 11, 10, and 8 (there are 2 more but they are not intersted due to age or.. well "boys" in the case of the one). The 11 yearold is an avid computer geek in the making already and able to build CAT5 cables for me and route my network issues when I am away from home. The 8 year old is extremely good with Bryce, Poser and math in general - also the most adamant about learning to program.

Now, the question is this:
Where to start? I mean, I downloaded and set up POEMUD on one of the home servers (as an expected tool for the process - always helps to make learning FUN) and began writing lesson plans for Perl. Then I stopped short. I know my love for the language is based on reason, ability, familiarity, and raw power of it. But, perhaps this is not the best choice for them. Maybe starting easier with simple D/HTML (*cringe* no flame for that please - it is a language.. and a start, albeit a meager one) or maybe Java or C++.

I am interested in your suggestions oh, venerable ones. Anyone have any teaching experience with younger programmers?  And, I know some of our members are the younger generation as well.. tips on what got you started in Perl or other languages would be very much appreciated.

By the side - I have taught high school programming and networking classes before, so that part of the process will not be too much of a new challenge.

Update: Thanks dragonchild, I found a couple nodes on this such as one and that helps somewhat. But particularly I am thinking of the age issue as well.

*G*