This is an easy to follow, not too technical, geeky or maths heavy introduction to programming with Scratch using the current (as of June 2012) version: Scratch 1.4
Scratch was developed at MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten and is a free, safe and friendly environment to play around with the programming code. You can pull the code apart, try the instructions in a different order and adjust the values, even while it is running, without any risk of damaging the computer or yourself.
Scratch is sometimes dismissed for being too simple and lacking elements found in other languages but at the elementary level Scratch performs perfectly well. The sample script created here can be reproduced with, for example, Python, JavaScript, Ruby and C languages using standard programming constructs such as loops and if condition testing so once the user is familiar and comfortable using Scratch those skills are a solid foundation to explore other programming languages.
Each article is a single page which ends with a video demonstrating the points covered in the article. The articles are a step by step guide whilst the videos are more of a warts and all affair demonstrating typical errors that can occur and easily resolved.
There are numerous excellent sources for Scratch related information around the web, including the Scratch site itself, but perhaps this individual (idiosyncratic) point of view may be of interest (help) to some.
There is rarely a single right solution to any given problem and so, once the user is comfortable using the Scratch language, it will be beneficial to play around with the code and devise alternative solutions.
If you live on the UK side of the Atlantic you may like to download my English language translation file. UnZip it (usually a double click) and pop the euk.po file into the Locale folder which you will find inside the Scratch folder. You can then click on the globe icon in the top left of the Scratch window and select Actual English from the menu...
This will translate what the Americans refer to as English to actual English adding a U to colour and putting the R in the right place in centre etc. ;-)
Part 1: Let's Scratch!
Part 2: Let's Move!
Part 3: Let's Broadcast Variable Messages!
Part 4: Let's Make A Game!
Part 5: Let's Get A Job! A Fizz Buzz programming test.