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p5.js
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I built a small raspberry pi zero "laptop"[1] with 4" screen and usb battery that does not have X and inits directly into openvt that starts vim (takes like 2 seconds to boot) and it has python and you can directly write pixels into /dev/fb0, there are also console games that are quite fun.
The best part was "no distraction environment" no internet, no messages, nothing, you have to be bored a bit to get creative.
Though my daughter doesnt use it much (she did in the beginning), it is super hard to compete with modern entertainment which is so reachable and so instant. All kids get what they want immediately after they want it. I want a football, order online, it arrives same day. I want to watch this movie, they start watching.
I am trying to create some time per day, in a safe space where she can be creative and bored.
[1]: https://github.com/jackdoe/programming-for-kids/blob/master/...
An Apple II emulator is an interesting approach. Would something like LinApple [1] work or are there other options out there that could work better?
[1]: https://github.com/linappleii/linapple
Most any Craptop will do, but one with a styless is better for drawing.
Install
1. GCompris
2. Gimp, Inkscape
3. Rosegarden
4. https://github.com/commanderx16/x16-emulator/
Don't install a bunch of games.
It looks like there's an Apple II core for Mister: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Apple-II_MiSTer
I also think a slightly different way to go here is an arduino kit. Even as an adult, I got some kind of ardunio kit with a bunch of parts that got me more interested in wiring & coding. I like it because it gives you the code and parts to get things working, but then, you have a bunch of stuff left over to expand on it. If you don't like coding, you can reuse the same code and build out the hardware, and vice versa. That is definitely more work and less play than Number Munchers though. You'll probably have to do some of the stuff with your kids, depending on how curious they are about this stuff. I've seen things that look like simpler arduino kits meant for teaching younger kids similar concepts, but I don't know how good they are.
I think a synthesizer is good, too. A cheap FM synth with a bunch of dials lets you play real songs, exercise your creativity and maybe learn some science skills by mistake like an old computer with a BASIC interpreter. There's probably software solutions geared towards infotainment as well.
what about Processing?
It runs on a lot of computers, its fun to make graphics and games. The online version is "javascript" and lets you code online and share off. And if you have a machine with a browser you can run it.
https://p5js.org
"The coding train" series has some tutorials, from very basic to pretty complex.
https://thecodingtrain.com/beginners/p5js/