- strengthening the upper body and core muscles for other
gross motor tasks - strengthening the upper body and core muscles to create a stable base for fine
motor skills -
developing stability in the bones of the shoulder joint (the ball and socket joints of the shoulders and hips are shallow and unstable at birth but are molded into stronger, more stable joints through weight - bearing)- visual development to quickly shift focus from near to
far - hand - eye - coordination - providing plentiful early opportunities for
motor planning (movement problem - solving)- refining balance - integrating the movement (vestibular), pressure & stretch (proprioceptive), visual and touch (tactile) sensory systems - learning to coordinate movements where two sides of the body are doing different movements - learning to coordinate upper body and lower body movements -
developing body awareness and spatial awareness - fostering independence