Scratch

I think that Scratch is a very good introductory programming language. One thing that sets it well above many others is the way it presents itself. Rather than just popping up a command window and asking you to get started, it offers a selection of different possible commands, and all in a very clean visual style that makes it look much less complex and more approachable. This does have a downside, however, in that it feels a little limited. That all of the possible commands, or at least the commands they are directly derived from, are presented means that you can't really include every command there. This limits the capability of it to a fair degree, but I think its perfectly adequate for anything being done by beginners like us. So, for a summary, Scratch is, I believe, good as an introductory language, but its usefulness decreases quickly as the programs being created get more complex.