The same is true for babies and toddlers.
Structured activities help introduce children to new ideas.
But to truly master the ideas, your baby needs to explore what happens when she tries different stacking combinations. She can benefit from both observing you and from exploring on her own. More important in the long run is that children get many opportunities for play and that adults do not get too involved in managing that play. Although demonstrating new ideas to children is fun, your child should be able to decide what she wants to do with the information. For example, those same stacking rings can also be used as doughnuts for dolls or as something she can load into a dump truck.