Step 1: Pons (1-5 months) Crawling on his belly

• Helps the hands to open out, integrating the grasp reflex (preparing the writing skill)
• First time the baby moves forward on his own (attention and motivation)
• Horizontal eye tracking
  (eyes muscles working without the head moving, base for the reading skill)

• Develops eye muscles to converge
  (2 eyes but one image, preparing to focus later on each letter as he learns to read)
• Vital tactile perception of his body in space
  (dermatomes on the surface of the skin linking to spinal cord and brain)

Rolling – Feldenkrais with Baby Liv

Step 2: Midbrain (4-13 months) Creeping on hands and knees

• Hands open and close to support his body weight (next step development for the writing skill)
• Eye accommodation: switching from near to far point vision
• First experience of moving forward with speed
• Connects vestibular, proprioception and visual systems

Crawling – Feldenkrais with Baby Liv

Step 3: Cortex (8-72 months) Upright walk with cross-pattern

• Refining his binocularity
• Awareness of three dimensions (touch, vision, sound)
• Cortical opposition of both hands, working together but independantly
• Inhibition of subcortical reactions
  (controlling impulsivity. leading to be able to simultaneously problem solve while staying calm)

Stage 4: Prefrontal Cortex (6 – 25 years) Refined skills for performance

• Executive functions: planning, organizing, starting and finishing a project
• Cognitive and emotional self-regulation
• Delays gratification for a higher cause
• Working memory
• Consolidation of brain laterality