I've had a lot of success using the How to Design Programs textbook (http://www.htdp.org/), which uses a series of Scheme-based languages explicitly designed for beginners. The TeachScheme, ReachJava! (http://www.teach-scheme.org/) curriculum uses this book in a two-semester sequence where students learn programming in the first semester with HtDP and these Scheme-derived languages, then transition to Java and objects in the second semester.
I'm happy to provide additional help getting you running in this curriculum if you'd like. Jay McCarthy -- Jay McCarthy <j...@cs.byu.edu> Assistant Professor / Brigham Young University http://teammccarthy.org/jay "The glory of God is Intelligence" - D&C 93
