I started my son at 10 with .22 rifles. He's now going on 13 and a pretty good shot. At 12 he went through the Hunter Safety Class as required by the state and did very well on the test as well as on the range. No doubt in my mind that the lessons at home were of much more value than the few hours of instruction he recieved at the class.

As for rocks, she can learn that skill on her own, little instruction (other than "proper" target identification) is needed.