You should try Xubuntu 15.04, and look at it from the perspective of someone who's never used a computer before. It's got a simple, clean interface that any kid can figure out. And when the computer crashes (which it will) you don't have to pay for a pirated copy of Windows.

Quote from OA

"The ThinkPads, which run on Intel Pentium M single core, 32-bit processors and hold less than 2 Gigabytes of RAM, were state-of-the-art 10 years ago but are far outdated by today's standards."

What OS would you suggest as an alternative? Just in case you meant OpenBSD or something...

Uh, when was the last time you used it?