Motivated by the idea that there is a complex interaction between learning and development (Vygotsky, 1978), we argue that action experience begins to shape our perception of the world around us during infancy and that its influence does not end there. Theories of embodiment provide a structure within which we can investigate the mechanisms underlying action’s impact on cognitive changes occurring throughout the lifetime. These theories shed light on the role of action experience in early learning contexts and developmental milestones, and further hold promise for directing the use of action to scaffold learning in more formal educational settings later in development. Simply put, the processes we use to act can subsequently subserve the processes we use to understand.