If I were you I'd simply plant some beans from seed and some tomatoes and cucumbers from plants this year and just get a handle on how those basic plants grow. Then next year you can expand what you grow. Add another new thing or two. I am doing that and last year the new thing was rhubarb and blueberries; this year it is raspberries. Next year will be apple and peach trees and lowbush blueberries.

Hoe out a big square and then make raised rows inside that with the soil that you have. I'd go and also get a bag or two of well composted manure and how that into the soil rows, not the aisles. Keep your aisles clean by hoeing over covering them with mulch of some sort. Do a search for that on here and you'll get plenty of ideas. Water it deeply every week if you don't get at least an inch of rain. Make that a science project with your son :)

As you get more into gardening, you can devise new ways to make the garden look prettier. For now, I'd stick with getting some produce out of the whole deal. Beans, cucs and tomatoes are pretty easy. Again, do a search on this forum for those plants and you'll get thousands of ideas of how to plant them.

Good luck!

Alicate