An experimental 9th grade computer science syllabus is proposed. The syllabus would include the technical information needed for controlling and programing the computer in a number of modes and would preview some of the areas covered in the high school curriculum. A sample module of a topic not normally taught in high school--distance and error-correcting codes--is presented. Two student-authored programs also illustrate the ways in which the computer can explore areas outside the normal curriculum--a plotter routine for making artistic patterns and a program to use the Monte Carlo method to calculate the area under a curve. (JY)