I feel like window management is a good way to introduce vimscript as well. Lets you tweak some of the features like having the windows open on the right instead of left or getting rid of the w so it's just ctrl+{hjkl}.
I learned vi 20 years ago now, and vim a year or three later. In all that time, I've never seen the point to vimscript. If you want a heavily customized, scriptable editor, why just not use emacs? Vi works the way it works.
http://yannesposito.com/Scratch/en/blog/Learn-Vim-Progressiv...
I'd add windows to your list of things to take a look at once you feel comfortable with the editor. You can split your workspace with ctrl+w followed by 'v' (vertical) or 's' (split). Then you can switch between those panes by pressing ctrl+w twice, or ctrl+w followed by hjkl or an arrow key. You can also resize the windows and stuff, it's great for things like viewing a header and source file at the same time.