I'm an advocate of Janome machines and going to a Janome dealer; just look in your tele.book under sewing machine dealers to find a Janome one. They will let you sit and try out a machine, and they do have some nice ones that don't cost hundreds and hundreds. Most dealers have classes too, and some of them are FREE when you buy a machine from them. I taught kids too and agree with 3Gquilter..... definitely do not buy her a toy machine. She can learn on a regular machine (with lots of supervision) and the dealer might have kids classes too.
You can also go online to Janome.com to see all of their models.
Good luck. Keep us posted on what you buy......yippee!