Engagement advice on Creative computing I'm preparing a course for next year, aimed at kids from ~6-16. It's based around the concept of creative computing:

http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/guide/index.html

I think it will be a great experience. We'll be working around Scratch, and a lot of stuff involving game development, animations, and who knows what else will come.

The real challenge I see in this course (as well as the main objective) is how to engage the kids into this world of development: The stereotypical kid in this age range is just interested in playing games with their parent's smartphone or tablet. Some of them have a PlayStation or other gaming system, but at the end, they spend a lot of hours playing modern games, which are ridiculously easy to play (don't get me wrong, some of those are great, but the majority of them don't promote any required value like endeavor or perseverance). Those kids don't know the amount of work that those games involve, and I'm a bit afraid of them getting frustrated by the fact they cannot easily make AAA games like the ones they're used to in a matter of minutes.

Has anyone experience in a similar environment, who can provide experiences and feedback? How do you engage those kids into this world that requires so much sacrifice and willing to learn?
Show them the cool stuff they can do with Scratch.

Don't focus on explaining that they can't make a AAA game. Focus on showing them examples of stuff that is engaging and interesting, that they can do with Scratch. Come up with a showcase of interesting programs. Make sure your assignments are engaging and interesting.

Taking a step back, I'd also recommend you give your students the benefit of the doubt. Don't come in with an attitude that assumes they only care about modern video games and smartphones. Connect your lessons with stuff they do care about. Have them draw a scene from their favorite show, or have them make a game or animation about their friends.

And taking another step back, the age range of your students is very high. A 6 year old and a 16 year old are very different. I'm not sure Scratch is the right choice for 16 year olds. Maybe try something like Game Maker or Processing? I've mentioned Processing in a bunch of my other answers, and I'd be happy to talk more about it with you if you're interested.