Definitely get one of those 200 in 1 project kits. That is how I graduated from electrical stuff (motors, light bulbs, relays, electro magnets, switches) to true electronics (diodes, transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors).
Another advantage is you have all the parts you need to build stuff right in the kit. If you try to learn by building misc. circuits off the web you will be buying all kinds of stuff you may never use again or you can't get things to work because you can't locate the exact part required. Get the kit to eliminate all those distractions. Its well worth it.
Those kits give you schematics, circuit functional description and theory of how is all works step by step. That will be very helpful to you based on your questions.
The step by step walk through helps you learn what each component does. I was building stuff in no time.
As your knowledge grows you will learn basic electrical theory and apply numbers to the circuits and learn how to design these on paper before touching a single wire and making it work based on your engineering skills.
Good luck. I got my 100 in 1 project kit from Radio Shack in 1967 and it launched my electronics hobby that is still going today 43 years later. OH! I still have my Radio Shack 100 in 1 kit by the way.
Bearman