<PAGE>   1


    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 1997
                                                       Registration No. 333-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      S E C U R I T I E S   A N D   E X C H A N G E   C O M M I S S I O N
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                    FORM S-8
                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                           THE LEARNING COMPANY, INC.
             ------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

            Delaware                                      94-2562108
            --------                                      ----------
(State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                        Identification No.)

                   One Anthenaeum Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
               ---------------------------------------------------
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

                  1996 NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION PLAN
                        1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                         LONG TERM EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
               ---------------------------------------------------
                            (Full title of the Plans)

                                 Neal S. Winneg
                       Vice President and General Counsel
                           The Learning Company, Inc.
                              One Athenaeum Street
                         Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
                     ---------------------------------------
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (617) 494-1200
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
==============================================================================================
    Title of                                Proposed             Proposed
   Securities             Amount            Maximum              Maximum         Amount of
     to be                  to be         Offering Price         Aggregate       Registration
   Registered           Registered(1)        Per Share       Offering Price (1)        Fee
   ----------           ----------        ---------------    ------------------  ---------

<S>                 <C>                     <C>                <C>                <C> 
Common Stock,       3,500,000 shares        17.28125(2)         $60,484,375       $17,843
$.01 par value
per share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

----------------

(1) Consists of (i) 500,000 shares issuable under the 1996 Non-Employee Director
Stock Option Plan, (ii) 1,000,000 shares issuable under the 1997 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan and (iii) 2,000,000 shares issuable under the Long Term Equity
Incentive Plan.

(2) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee
pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (h) of Rule 457 under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, based on the average of the high and low prices per share of the
Registrant's Common Stock reported on the New York Stock Exchange on December
12, 1997.


<PAGE>   2



PART I.  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

     The information required by Part I is included in documents sent or given
to participants in The Learning Company, Inc.'s (the "Registrant") 1996
Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan, the Registrant's 1997 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan and the Registrant's Long Term Equity Incentive Plan pursuant to
Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").

PART II.  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

     Item 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

     The Registrant is subject to the informational and reporting requirements
of Sections 13(a), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy
statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following documents, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, are incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference:

          (a) The Registrant's latest annual report filed pursuant to Sections
     13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or the latest prospectus filed pursuant
     to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act that contains, either directly or
     by incorporation by reference, audited financial statements for the
     Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed.

          (b) All other reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the
     Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the document
     referred to in (a) above.

          (c) The description of the Common Stock, $.01 par value per share
     ("Common Stock"), contained in a registration statement filed under the
     Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of
     updating such description.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all shares of Common Stock offered
hereby have been sold or which deregisters all shares of Common Stock then
remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to
be part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents.

     Item 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

     Not applicable.

     Item 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

     The validity of the Common Stock offered hereby will be passed upon for the
Registrant by Neal S. Winneg, General Counsel of the Registrant. Mr. Winneg owns
options to purchase an aggregate of 98,750 shares of Common Stock, which are or
become exercisable in periodic installments through January 1999.

     Item 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

     Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, allows a
corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to
the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of
fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of
loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or
knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a
stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper
personal benefit.


<PAGE>   3



     Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, provides
that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action,
suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative
(other than an action by or in the right of the corporation), by reason of the
fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation
or is or was serving at its request in such capacity in another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses
(including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement
actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or
proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect
to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his
conduct was unlawful.

     Section 8 of the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides
for elimination of directors' personal liability and indemnification as follows:

     "8.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

     8.1  ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN LIABILITIES OF DIRECTORS. A director of the
Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its
stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director,
except for liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the
Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or
which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under
Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction
from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the Delaware
General Corporation Law is amended after approval by the stockholders of this
Section to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the
personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the
Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by
the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended. Any repeal or modification
of this Section by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely
affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the
time of such repeal or modification.

     8.2  INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE

          8.2.1 RIGHT TO INDEMNIFICATION. Each person who was or is made a party
or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved in any action, suit or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative
(hereinafter a "proceeding"), by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person
of whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer,
of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation, as a
director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or of a
partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, including service with
respect to employee benefit plans, whether the basis of such proceeding is
alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee, or
agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee,
or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to its
fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same
exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only
to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader
indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior
to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including
attorneys' fees, judgments, fines, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 excise taxes or penalties, and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement)
reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith, and such
indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director,
officer, employee, or agent and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs,
executors, and administrators; provided, however, that the Corporation shall
indemnify any such person seeking indemnification in connection with a
proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such proceeding
(or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
The right to indemnification conferred in this Section shall be a contract right
and shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred
defending any such proceeding in advance of its final


<PAGE>   4



disposition; provided, however, that, if the Delaware General Corporation Law
requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his
or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which
service was or is rendered by such person while a director or officer,
including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) in advance
of the final disposition of a proceeding, shall be made only upon delivery to
the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer,
to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such
director or officer is not entitled to be indemnified under this Section or
otherwise. The Corporation may, by action of its Board of Directors, provide
indemnification to employees and agents of the Corporation with the same scope
and effect as the foregoing indemnification of directors and officers.

          8.2.2 NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS. The right to indemnification and the
payment of expenses incurred in defending a proceeding in advance of its final
disposition conferred in this Section shall not be exclusive of any other right
which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of
this Restated Certificate, Bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders, or
disinterested directors or otherwise.

          8.2.3 INSURANCE. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its
expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee, or agent of the
Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against any such expense, liability or loss, whether or not the
Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense,
liability, or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law."

     The Registrant has purchased directors' and officers' liability insurance
which would indemnify the directors and officers of the Registrant against
damages arising out of certain kinds of claims which might be made against them
based on their negligent acts or omissions while acting in their capacity as
such.

     Item 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

     Not applicable.

     Item 8. EXHIBITS.

     The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits attached hereto is
incorporated herein by reference.

     Item 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

     1.   The Registrant hereby undertakes:

          (a)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
     made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

               (i)   to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                     the Securities Act;

               (ii)  to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                     after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or
                     the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                     individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                     change in the information set forth in the Registration
                     Statement; and



<PAGE>   5



               (iii) to include any material information with respect to the
                     plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
                     Registration Statement or any material change to such
                     information in the Registration Statement;

     provided, however, that paragraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply if the
     Registration Statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8, and the information
     required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs
     is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission
     by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
     Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement;

          (b)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
     Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
     new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and
     the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
     initial bona fide offering thereof; and

          (c)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
     amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
     termination of the offering.

     2.   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be in the initial
bona fide offering thereof.

     3.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities
Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


<PAGE>   6


                                   SIGNATURES


         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Cambridge, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on this
16th day of December, 1997.

                                             THE LEARNING COMPANY, INC.


                                              By: /s/ Neal S. Winneg
                                                  ------------------------------
                                                  Neal S. Winneg
                                                  Vice President and Secretary
                                                  


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY


     We, the undersigned officers and directors of The Learning Company, Inc.
hereby severally constitute Michael J. Perik, R. Scott Murray and Neal S.
Winneg, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power
to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the
capacities indicated below, the Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed
herewith and any and all pre-effective and post-effective amendments to said
Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and
behalf in our capacities as officers and directors to enable The Learning
Company, Inc. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act and all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and all amendments thereto.




<PAGE>   7



         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
date indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
   Signatures                                Capacity                     Date
   ----------                                --------                     ----


<S>                                 <C>                             <C> 
/s/  Michael J. Perik               Chairman of the Board           December 16, 1997
--------------------------------    and Chief Executive Officer
Michael J. Perik                    (Principal Executive Officer)


/s/  R. Scott Murray                Executive Vice President        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------     and Chief Financial Officer
R. Scott Murray                     (Principal Financial and
                                     Accounting Officer)


/s/ Kevin O'Leary                   Director and President          December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Kevin O'Leary


/s/ Lamar Alexander                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Lamar Alexander


/s/ Michael A. Bell                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Michael A. Bell


/s/ James C. Dowdle                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
James C. Dowdle


                                    Director
-------------------------------
Robert Gagnon


/s/ Charles L. Palmer               Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Charles L. Palmer


                                    Director
-------------------------------
Carolynn N. Reid-Wallace


/s/ Robert A. Rubinoff              Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Robert A. Rubinoff


/s/ Scott M. Sperling               Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Scott M. Sperling

</TABLE>



<PAGE>   8


<TABLE>

<S>                                 <C>                             <C> 


                                    Director
-------------------------------
Anthony J. DiNovi


                                    Director
-------------------------------
Mark E. Nunnelly


                                    Director
-------------------------------
Paul J. Zepf
</TABLE>






<PAGE>   9



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                  -------------


Exhibit
Number
------


 4.1              Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as
                  amended(1)

 4.2              By-Laws, as amended(1)

 5                Opinion of Neal S. Winneg, Esq.

23.1              Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.,
                  Independent Accountants

23.2              Consent of Neal S. Winneg, Esq.
                  (included in Exhibit 5).

24                Power of Attorney (included in the signature
                  pages of this Registration Statement).


--------

(1)  Incorporated herein by reference to exhibits filed with the Registrant's
     Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended July 6, 1996.
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "THE LEARNING COMPANY", "secsgml_size_bytes": 23003}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "LEARNING CO INC", "cik": "0000719612", "assigned-sic": "7372", "irs-number": "942562108", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "0104"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-42449", "film-number": "97739680"}, "business-address": {"street1": "ONE ATHENAEUM ST", "city": "CAMBRIDGE", "state": "MA", "zip": "02142", "phone": "6174941200"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "ONE ATHENAEUM ST", "city": "CAMBRIDGE", "state": "MA", "zip": "02142"}, "former-company": [{"former-conformed-name": "SOFTKEY INTERNATIONAL INC", "date-changed": "19940210"}, {"former-conformed-name": "WORDSTAR INTERNATIONAL INC", "date-changed": "19920703"}, {"former-conformed-name": "MICROPRO INTERNATIONAL CORP", "date-changed": "19890618"}]}
1

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 1997
                                                       Registration No. 333-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      S E C U R I T I E S   A N D   E X C H A N G E   C O M M I S S I O N
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                    FORM S-8
                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                           THE LEARNING COMPANY, INC.
             ------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

            Delaware                                      94-2562108
            --------                                      ----------
(State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                        Identification No.)

                   One Anthenaeum Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
               ---------------------------------------------------
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

                  1996 NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR STOCK OPTION PLAN
                        1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                         LONG TERM EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
               ---------------------------------------------------
                            (Full title of the Plans)

                                 Neal S. Winneg
                       Vice President and General Counsel
                           The Learning Company, Inc.
                              One Athenaeum Street
                         Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
                     ---------------------------------------
                     (Name and address of agent for service)

                                 (617) 494-1200
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
==============================================================================================
    Title of                                Proposed             Proposed
   Securities             Amount            Maximum              Maximum         Amount of
     to be                  to be         Offering Price         Aggregate       Registration
   Registered           Registered(1)        Per Share       Offering Price (1)        Fee
   ----------           ----------        ---------------    ------------------  ---------
Common Stock,       3,500,000 shares        17.28125(2)         $60,484,375       $17,843
$.01 par value
per share
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------

(1) Consists of (i) 500,000 shares issuable under the 1996 Non-Employee Director
Stock Option Plan, (ii) 1,000,000 shares issuable under the 1997 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan and (iii) 2,000,000 shares issuable under the Long Term Equity
Incentive Plan.

(2) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee
pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (h) of Rule 457 under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, based on the average of the high and low prices per share of the
Registrant's Common Stock reported on the New York Stock Exchange on December
12, 1997.
2

PART I.  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

     The information required by Part I is included in documents sent or given
to participants in The Learning Company, Inc.'s (the "Registrant") 1996
Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan, the Registrant's 1997 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan and the Registrant's Long Term Equity Incentive Plan pursuant to
Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").

PART II.  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

     Item 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

     The Registrant is subject to the informational and reporting requirements
of Sections 13(a), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy
statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The following documents, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, are incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference:

          (a) The Registrant's latest annual report filed pursuant to Sections
     13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or the latest prospectus filed pursuant
     to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act that contains, either directly or
     by incorporation by reference, audited financial statements for the
     Registrant's latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed.

          (b) All other reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the
     Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the document
     referred to in (a) above.

          (c) The description of the Common Stock, $.01 par value per share
     ("Common Stock"), contained in a registration statement filed under the
     Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of
     updating such description.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all shares of Common Stock offered
hereby have been sold or which deregisters all shares of Common Stock then
remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to
be part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents.

     Item 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

     Not applicable.

     Item 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

     The validity of the Common Stock offered hereby will be passed upon for the
Registrant by Neal S. Winneg, General Counsel of the Registrant. Mr. Winneg owns
options to purchase an aggregate of 98,750 shares of Common Stock, which are or
become exercisable in periodic installments through January 1999.

     Item 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

     Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, allows a
corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to
the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of
fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of
loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or
knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a
stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper
personal benefit.
3

     Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, provides
that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action,
suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative
(other than an action by or in the right of the corporation), by reason of the
fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation
or is or was serving at its request in such capacity in another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses
(including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement
actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or
proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect
to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his
conduct was unlawful.

     Section 8 of the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides
for elimination of directors' personal liability and indemnification as follows:

     "8.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

     8.1  ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN LIABILITIES OF DIRECTORS. A director of the
Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its
stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director,
except for liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the
Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or
which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under
Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction
from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the Delaware
General Corporation Law is amended after approval by the stockholders of this
Section to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the
personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the
Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by
the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended. Any repeal or modification
of this Section by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely
affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the
time of such repeal or modification.

     8.2  INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE

          8.2.1 RIGHT TO INDEMNIFICATION. Each person who was or is made a party
or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved in any action, suit or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative
(hereinafter a "proceeding"), by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person
of whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer,
of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation, as a
director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation or of a
partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, including service with
respect to employee benefit plans, whether the basis of such proceeding is
alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee, or
agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee,
or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to its
fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same
exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only
to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader
indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior
to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including
attorneys' fees, judgments, fines, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 excise taxes or penalties, and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement)
reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith, and such
indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director,
officer, employee, or agent and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs,
executors, and administrators; provided, however, that the Corporation shall
indemnify any such person seeking indemnification in connection with a
proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such proceeding
(or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
The right to indemnification conferred in this Section shall be a contract right
and shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred
defending any such proceeding in advance of its final
4

disposition; provided, however, that, if the Delaware General Corporation Law
requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his
or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which
service was or is rendered by such person while a director or officer,
including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) in advance
of the final disposition of a proceeding, shall be made only upon delivery to
the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer,
to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such
director or officer is not entitled to be indemnified under this Section or
otherwise. The Corporation may, by action of its Board of Directors, provide
indemnification to employees and agents of the Corporation with the same scope
and effect as the foregoing indemnification of directors and officers.

          8.2.2 NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS. The right to indemnification and the
payment of expenses incurred in defending a proceeding in advance of its final
disposition conferred in this Section shall not be exclusive of any other right
which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of
this Restated Certificate, Bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders, or
disinterested directors or otherwise.

          8.2.3 INSURANCE. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its
expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee, or agent of the
Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against any such expense, liability or loss, whether or not the
Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense,
liability, or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law."

     The Registrant has purchased directors' and officers' liability insurance
which would indemnify the directors and officers of the Registrant against
damages arising out of certain kinds of claims which might be made against them
based on their negligent acts or omissions while acting in their capacity as
such.

     Item 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

     Not applicable.

     Item 8. EXHIBITS.

     The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits attached hereto is
incorporated herein by reference.

     Item 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

     1.   The Registrant hereby undertakes:

          (a)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
     made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

               (i)   to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                     the Securities Act;

               (ii)  to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
                     after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or
                     the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                     individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                     change in the information set forth in the Registration
                     Statement; and
5

               (iii) to include any material information with respect to the
                     plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
                     Registration Statement or any material change to such
                     information in the Registration Statement;

     provided, however, that paragraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply if the
     Registration Statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8, and the information
     required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs
     is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission
     by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
     Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement;

          (b)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
     Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
     new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and
     the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
     initial bona fide offering thereof; and

          (c)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
     amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
     termination of the offering.

     2.   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be in the initial
bona fide offering thereof.

     3.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities
Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
6

                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Cambridge, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on this
16th day of December, 1997.

                                             THE LEARNING COMPANY, INC.

                                              By: /s/ Neal S. Winneg
                                                  ------------------------------
                                                  Neal S. Winneg
                                                  Vice President and Secretary
                                                  

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

     We, the undersigned officers and directors of The Learning Company, Inc.
hereby severally constitute Michael J. Perik, R. Scott Murray and Neal S.
Winneg, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys with full power
to them, and each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the
capacities indicated below, the Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed
herewith and any and all pre-effective and post-effective amendments to said
Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our names and
behalf in our capacities as officers and directors to enable The Learning
Company, Inc. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act and all
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and
confirming our signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of
them, to said Registration Statement and all amendments thereto.
7

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
date indicated.
Signatures                                Capacity                     Date
   ----------                                --------                     ----
/s/  Michael J. Perik               Chairman of the Board           December 16, 1997
--------------------------------    and Chief Executive Officer
Michael J. Perik                    (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/  R. Scott Murray                Executive Vice President        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------     and Chief Financial Officer
R. Scott Murray                     (Principal Financial and
                                     Accounting Officer)

/s/ Kevin O'Leary                   Director and President          December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Kevin O'Leary

/s/ Lamar Alexander                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Lamar Alexander

/s/ Michael A. Bell                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Michael A. Bell

/s/ James C. Dowdle                 Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
James C. Dowdle

                                    Director
-------------------------------
Robert Gagnon

/s/ Charles L. Palmer               Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Charles L. Palmer

                                    Director
-------------------------------
Carolynn N. Reid-Wallace

/s/ Robert A. Rubinoff              Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Robert A. Rubinoff

/s/ Scott M. Sperling               Director                        December 16, 1997
-------------------------------
Scott M. Sperling
8
Director
-------------------------------
Anthony J. DiNovi

                                    Director
-------------------------------
Mark E. Nunnelly

                                    Director
-------------------------------
Paul J. Zepf
9

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                  -------------

Exhibit
Number
------

 4.1              Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as
                  amended(1)

 4.2              By-Laws, as amended(1)

 5                Opinion of Neal S. Winneg, Esq.

23.1              Consent of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.,
                  Independent Accountants

23.2              Consent of Neal S. Winneg, Esq.
                  (included in Exhibit 5).

24                Power of Attorney (included in the signature
                  pages of this Registration Statement).

--------

(1)  Incorporated herein by reference to exhibits filed with the Registrant's
     Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended July 6, 1996.