My thanks to everyone for the suggestions and encouragement in making this new experience a fabulous one for me and my 10 yr old GD. I really like the idea of taking first things first, so I'll be teaching her about operating her machine safely, then threading it and winding the bobbin. After she masters those things, I have her practice on sewing on the lines of coloring book pages. When those steps have been completed, I'll have her choose a project (pillowcase, draw-string purse, doll quilt, etc) and allow her to shop from my stash. Really looking forward to this, can hardly wait for Santa to bring her new machine.