Brother cs6000i is a great overall machine, simple to use. Do a google search for reviews, they are pretty good. You can regulate the speed easily, and you can run it withouth the foot control and just a start/stop button on the top of the machine, good if kids aren't coordinated enough for the petal.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and links. I will continue to research, but your personal experiences are more helpful to me. So thanks again for your response.