Robin, I am admirative of the way you try to inculcate your baby lojbanic notions.
Nevertheless, I wonder it may be senseless to teach lojban in such a way, because it is basically the way we learn natlangs. I sincerely doubt anybody can guess the way Lojban works on the sole basis of trials&errors, rather it seems to me that such an artifical logical language can only be taught in a prescriptive kind of professoral way. At least, by reading manuals, and having a priori strong notions of grammar and formal logic...
Regards, Escape