I’m going to help my son rebuild this little 5hp Briggs, just so he can get some small engine experience. The plan is to break it all the way down, then put it back together after clean some parts and completely replacing others. I figure new gaskets and a new carburetor, but what else can y’all recommend for just the basics. It has compression and spark. Not trying to turn it into anything fancy, just want to let him see everything inside and out and get it running again. I’ve never done this before so I figure we can learn it together.

Good job! I did that with my Son when he was that age. Let him make mistakes before you take over. He put the float and needle upside down and got valuable experience. Take step by step photo's to look back at as refresher.

Small engines are prone to smoke over time and burn oil around the ring. Maybe replace the piston just so he can see how to do it, even though it may not need it. I wouldn’t think a piston and ring would be expensive.

I’ve got a running one just like it on a busted tiller I’d sell you for $50. Would be cheaper than parts I think, but nothing wrong with it to my knowledge.

Id check the crank and bearing

Lap the valve seats and clean the valves. Check the keepers.

Don't replace the carb, rebuild it. That's the easiest thing you'll do during the process and every kid needs to learn how to do that.

Good luck if I tried that I’d have way too many parts left over. Some of us just aren’t mechanically inclined.

My dad is a Godly man and taught me many extremely valuable life lessons. I wish I had learned some stuff like this. Good for you.

That looks like a great father and son project. After you rebuild it you need to install it on a go-kart with questionable brakes and no governor.

When Irish Jr. was about 7 years old, I got a hold of one such go-kart and we rebuilt it as a father and son project. We were both so proud. I took it out on it's maiden voyage and promptly flipped it over and skinned my self up pretty bad. Tore up my favorite pair of jeans too. Irish Jr. was scared to ride it for a while after that. That little bugger would fly... Stopping... Not so much.

take the spring out of the pull rope mechanism and have him put it back together

Sorry but I have to disagree. Carburetors are dinosaurs, they're going to be extinct in 5 more years.
I'd simply replace the carb, much cheaper and easier.

I think I had that same go-cart. I just removed the brake peddle, since it wasn't useful anymore.
That sucker would throw a 20ft flame out the exhaust with 100LL avgas.
She ran about 63 mph and the steering wheel was my brake.

Those engines are real simple. I would plan to at minimum replace all the gaskets, lap the valves, and new rings and cylinder hone if you have one available.
If it has good compression and the cylinder looks fine, you would be ok. Especially since it’s a learning project. Have fun, I used to tinker with them a lot when I was a teenager. We raced go karts, so it intrigued me to make them more powerful.