All great ideas. On a little more mundane level - The "Smart Start" guitar method by Jessica Turner is probably the simplest and most accessable instruction for kids. It utilizes an open G tuning of the guitar and begins by just teaching the children to strum the open G chord as an accompaniment to singing. It is published by Hal Leonard, and is available through Homespun, which also has an accompnying video. I also believe Ms. Turner has just published a version of "Smart Start" for adults, if anyone is interested in learning to play guitar but has found it somewhat difficult.