Introduction

I have looked around the web to gather resources for introducing programming to my two young nephews, in a fun and gentle manner. Today’s world increasingly relies on software, and this is an effort to help them gain practical knowledge and understanding that will serve them well in the future.

Why Clojure(Script)?

I have been using Clojure since 2009, after I was introduced to it in a presentation by Stuart Halloway, at NFJS. I found Clojure to be the most impressive, powerfule, and simple language I had used yet. Some years later, Clojure was brought to Web and the Javascript echo system through Clojurescript. I strongly believe that Clojure(Script) is a no nonsense and terse language in the family of Lisp languages, which should be easier to grasp for young children.

Clojurescript, REPL, Web Browser, Zero Setup

Several resources exist to use Clojurescript directly in the browser for free:

• Klipse for Kids is a fun way to teach your kids LISP and Clojure.
• The ClojureScript Koans walk you along the path of enlightenment to learning ClojureScript.
• Quil is Clojure/ClojureScript library for creating interactive drawings and animations, that lets you interact, tweak, and create new sketches online.
• Nightcoders.net provides a cloud IDE for ClojureScript, in which Web Apps, Games, and Music can be worked on directly in the browser.
• The ClojureScript REPL provides an online REPL to evaluate arbitrary code.
• The ClojureScript Cheatsheet provide a quick reference the syntax and the documentation.

Conclusion

Clojure(Script) is fun, useful and powerful. I hope in planting the seed of programming to empower my nephews for a bright future. I hope that they use their newly acquired knowledge to make a powerful impact in this world.