++ for mr_mischief. His method of learning perl (by jumping right into cold water and swimming) is not easy, but works best.
++ for Masem. Programming is (mostly) craft, and you can learn it by solving smaller problems.
++ for Cubes. Teaching will require your time, so all managers involved need to know about it and set priorities straight. Shortest way to hell is try to plese two different managers with different priorities (and I am speaking from personal experience with bad ending).
I wanted -- cubes for proposing to exercises in VB. Why? Why not teach new concepts in language student will use? Firmly implant perl instead. IMHO. But time planning is double ++, so let it be. ;)
melguin proposed to allow your pupil to express his/her individuality. I believe beginners, which need later learn to program in teams, most likely in team with you, much more important is to get used to discipline.

My example: I have colleague who belives in complete freedom in programming. As a result, her programs have strange indent, naming variables does not make any sense and same database field has name abbreviated differently in different scripts (I have to read her programs and add features sometimes), and she strongly believes that 'use strict' is wrong because it breakes her "correctly working" code.
My advice: is easier to learn correct way, than un-learn wrong way and re-learn correct after.

You have unique opportunity to set some rules/coding guidelines, do not miss it. Let's be concerned about expressing individuality AFTER achieving mastery.

Update: To former Visual Basic user, you need excellent visual debugger, othervise his first impression will be "perl sucks, VB is better". You are right, there is visual debugger for perl, check Open Perl @ sourceforge.net. Like Visual Basic, only for free. Now your student is hooked in.

pmas
To make errors is human. But to make million errors per second, you need a computer.