Admittedly, getting started with an Arduino can be a bit daunting... which is where NoviceGuard comes in...
NoviceGuard is a small, inexpensive printed circuit board which helps novices get started with Arduinos... and also protects the Arduino.
At this wiki you will find a selection of things you could do with an Arduino in a NoviceGuard. There is a full discussion of NoviceGuard available on the web.
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You don't need a NoviceGuard. You don't need to use the NovGrdCore library... but they will help your novices, and guard against some of the Arduino- damaging mistakes novices make.
The easiest challenges can be met with nothing more than the basic NoviceGuard + Arduino. No daughter boards. No auxiliary power needed.
The challenges for the next level can be met with nothing more than the basic NoviceGuard + Arduino. No daughter boards. No auxiliary power needed.
THIS PAGE IS INCOMPLETE... please write and ask for more if you actually find it of interest/use. I'm not getting any indication that anyone is reading this stuff, and if not, I'll spend the energy differently... but I'm still willing to work with you, if I can make this better. You would be a pioneer. Do you kjnow the "asteroid theory" of influencing change? It applies here!
Links to, and pages about, challenges for the remaining two, more complex, "power demand" scenarios.
There are some indications of what these might be in the NoviceGuard's main pages.