If you are interested in having a recorder for home use, here is what I recommend.
- Start with a soprano recorder. This is what we use at Adams.
- Plastic is fine! A good plastic recorder can sound just as good as a wooden one.
- You have a choice between "Baroque" and "German" fingering. I prefer Baroque. German style recorders make it slightly simpler to play the note F, but Baroque recorders will set your student up to play other woodwind instruments, like clarinet.
Here are a few good options:
Peripole Halo Recorders, available in Baroque and German. $6.50 plus shipping.
Yamaha YRS-24 Baroque ($6 on Amazon) or YRS-23 German ($7.50 on Amazon)