I kind of like your idea with #1, #2, #3, and #4 in even that order. If he is doing well at altitude, that's good. I suggest horsing around with the sticks be discouraged. The more you can get him to fly at altitude, the better. Transition down to lower altitudes. If he gets a lot of time flying like that, he'll be getting down to lower altitudes. Also what I think helps is when you or he is flying, think out loud so he can hear the thought process of flying. But the more time he's flying, the better. And if he cracks up, no big deal. That's how we learn, right? Fix or get to the next trainer. Good luck to both of you.