Unfortunately geography--and to a lesser extent the lack of free-time--has meant that I have made no significant progress on starting a robotics project with my nephew.  But I have not given up! Being a five hour drive is proving to be a nuisance, so my thoughts are geared towards a Christmas purchase of a kit that he will be able to work on independently.  I know Christmas is still a bit away (I have a friend who doesn't think so, but I digress), but perhaps I could get two kits--one for me, and one for him.  I could try out the kit at home, and at least have some ideas on how to get things working before he has to start.  The Boe-Bot kit from Parallax looks particularly interesting.  This is just an idea on how to get me up to speed as a mentor so I will be able to help him finish his first robot.  Any thoughts?

BTW, I'm pretty sure he does not read this, so I'm not ruining any future gift ideas (fingers crossed).