On my to-do list is a Lemmings kind of environment with etoys.
Lemmings is a early 90 game with small animals that can be 
given behavior by dropping tools on them. 
Say you like them to build something you give them a brick.
I think this can be a fun way of 'programming' for small kids
and as they grow they can make the tools them self.
Most of the stuff is already in the environment but it has to be 
wrapped up for easiness etc.

Karl

Steve Wart wrote:
> 
> I agree that building (and destroying) things is important for young
> kids. At this age they seem to be desperately trying to develop a casual
> facility with everything around them, whether it's sand toys, crayons or
> electronic gadgets. And the average home is chock-a-block with
> electronic gadgets.
> 
> When Daddy spends most of his day on the computer, kids are really
> serious about figuring out what that is all about. I don't want to
> create the impression that I'm trying to "teach my son about computers"
> -- for me, it's just a way to show him some of the stuff I do, and maybe
> teach him some rules about my work space.
> 
> There is a mutual fascination when the two of us play with this stuff.
> He definitely wants to be here -- when he wants to go play with cars or
> puzzles or anything else, he is clear about that too. I get a kick out
> of it because I get to see him go from bashing on the keys to making
> connections with some pretty complex concepts. It's really just a game
> and the only rule is that it has to be fun for both of us.
> 
> The connections I get to make surface in questions like, "what do I need
> to teach my kids and why is it important?". If I can figure that out I
> think the "how" will become much easier.
> 
> Cheers,
> Steve
> 
> Alan Kay <Alan.Kay at disney.com> wrote:
> >
> > For those of you who have very young children, you are much better
> > off having them start to learn to build things with their hands. Most
> > computers are not equipped with enough tactile feedback to be great
> > learning environments for very young children.
> >
> > A great book to read for those who are interested is "Towards a
> > Theory of Instruction" by Jerome Bruner. It doesn't talk about
> > computers but it is one of the best books about designing good
> > educational environments for children of various ages.  Last year I
> > wrote a chapter for a book about kindergarten that discusses the
> > suitability of computers for 3 and 4 year olds. This will also go
> > online sometime this summer.