short programming projects for kids

[zombiehunter at gmail.com]

I was just about to suggest Livewires. I'm a programming newb (35 yrs
old ) haha- and I'm finding the lIvewires course pretty helpful, even
though it's geared for teens. I suppose my brain works on that
functional level.  :) And a book that's great for beginner's (know you
probably don't want to buy books but just wanted to throw this info out
there in case it helps somehow) is Python Programming for the Absolute
Beginner by Michael Dawson. I'm working through that too and it's
wonderful. It had many fairly simple to implement programs (lots of
them simple games) that build on each other in a very easily
comprehended, step-by-step manner. 
Hope htis helps-