Cheap ($300ish) laptop recomm. for 12-year-old twins

Hi. My kids are unfortunately relying on our computers a lot for homework (which means they're stealing mine mostly), so we've finally decided to bite the bullet and buy them laptops. As I need to buy 2, cheap would be good. I build desktops and have played around with laptops, so I'm not that worried about durability -- I can probably fix most of the issues... Naturally their criteria are that they be brightly colored and have Windows 8 (latest commercials...) -- but I figured I'd shoot for as much screen real estate, resolution, and lack-of-lag I could get for very little money. Weight or battery life isn't an issue. I need them to be new (Christmas gifts). Windows version really doesn't matter to me either -- I figure even if they've got the latest version their school most certainly does not.

I've never purchased a laptop on a budget before -- am not sure if waiting until closer to Christmas would be wise or not. I'm REALLY confused by the different CPU versions -- any pointers on comparison shopping would be appreciated. Thanks very much for your advice. Monica

1. What is your budget?
Hopefully as close to $300 each as I can get
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Prefer 15"+ (desktop replacement)
3. What screen resolution do you want?
As much as I can get
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
desktop replacement
5. How much battery life do you need?
isn't critical
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
12-year-old twins. Currently playing Minecraft -- resolution doesn't seem to matter, but they complain about lag...
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Probably MS Office, surfing, some gaming (I'd guess on the lower end of video requirements)
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Not critical
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Doesn't matter
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Prob 3-4 years
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Not critical
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Not critical
13. What country do you live in?
USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.