Arduino kits are great hits with the 8-15 year olds in the family. They can play with the sample code and tweak it and see something happen "in the real world", whether it's a flashing LED or "upgrading" their Lego to torment the cat.
It's similar to those Radio Shack "3000 electronic experiments" boards that were sold in the 80s(?) and yet can scale with the kids' understanding.
Sure, it's not self-hosting, but I've noticed the physical connection to caps, resistors, diodes, etc. in a "safe" environment makes them more proud of their accomplishments than their html/css projects.
It's similar to those Radio Shack "3000 electronic experiments" boards that were sold in the 80s(?) and yet can scale with the kids' understanding.
Sure, it's not self-hosting, but I've noticed the physical connection to caps, resistors, diodes, etc. in a "safe" environment makes them more proud of their accomplishments than their html/css projects.