I learned to solder two wires together that I didn't need and then use a blank circuit board to learn how to solder onto a board.
I was taught to solder the "real old school" way. I was given a sheet of Breadboard (a sheet of plastic perforated with holes used in hobby kits if you couldn't make printed circuit boards) and the board had 2500 holes. I had to put a terminal pin in each hole and solder it in place on the reverse side. All 2500 had to be done perfect before I was even given a wire or resistor to solder.
When I progressed to solder wires I had to use solid solder and a tub of Flux as cored solder wasn't that common 27 years ago
. It's a bit easier nowadays.