Bryan, welcome to the forum from TN. What a great introduction. Getting your daughter involved sounds wonderful. My first saw was a Hitachi which I returned within a week. I bought a DW788 and still use it after 10 years. I also have an EX21 whch is now my go to saw. I would recommend the DW788.
Wow, thanks for all the nice comments. I was not sure about the plywood, but I think it works on these.
Ed asked about burning. This was not Baltic Birch plywood, but something from Lowes. I had no problems cutting, except for the voids.
I made some from pine several weeks ago and thought of using 3/4" Birch plywood. There were several voids, but I think the plywood adds to the look. The patterns are by the late Dirk Boelman and found in CWWC Holiday 2013. I used FD UR #5 blades and the finish is 50% BLO. Comments welcome.