Each time I review a video clip of  one of my grandchildren engaged in a new manipulation activity I am impressed by how they use a combination of repetition and exploration. 

In this video clip you see Max (16 months) playing with a serviette ring and threader attached to a ribbon. 

He knows that the goal is to get the ring over the threading stick and onto the ribbon. This, however, involves a complex maneuver, whereby he needs to put the ring onto the threader, then grasp the front end of the threader and let go of the back end so that the ring can slide onto the ribbon.

He eventually achieves this goal. 

Initially he grasps  the threader too close to the front end so that the ring covers the point of the threader. 

With repetition he changes his grasp so that he is holding the back end of the threader, and there is plenty of space for the ring to fit on the threader,. Max spends some time putting the ring onto the threader and taking it off again. 

The act of repeatedly putting the ring onto the threader and taking it off again provides Max with many opportunities to practice aligning the ring with the threader. 

Video: Max (17 months)

Threading a serviette ring onto a long threader