![[For 1-year-olds] Performance for the school recital](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/gOD705TIcv4/maxresdefault.webp)
Many nursery teachers may be struggling to decide what to present at a performance for one-year-olds.
Even within the one-year-old age group, a small difference in months can greatly change what children can do, so choosing an act is tricky.
A performance is an important event where parents can see their children’s growth.
It’s best if the children can enjoy practicing from the start.
Here are some selections of acts for one-year-olds that let them have fun singing and dancing.
They might get a bit nervous on the day of the performance—but that’s adorable too, and it would be wonderful if teachers and parents could all watch over them together.
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- Get pumped with popular songs from “Okaasan to Issho”! A collection of timeless tunes everyone will want to sing together
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Performances for the Living Presentation (1–10) [For 1-year-olds]
Expression Play
If you feel that a play might be a bit difficult for one-year-olds, how about trying a play-like expressive activity instead? Like a play, it has a storyline, but there are no lines.
The children can sing songs, dance, and respond to the teacher’s prompts—carried out as an extension of their everyday play—so they’re sure to enjoy it.
You can include small quizzes or a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, creating a performance where everyone has fun in the moment while appreciating the children’s everyday growth.
Furu Furu Fruit
Dancing to “Furu Furu Fruits,” which features lots of kids’ favorite fruits, is super cute and highly recommended.
The song includes the names of fruits like strawberries, mandarins, pineapples, and mangoes, and it comes with simple choreography.
If the one-year-olds wear fruit costumes, that alone is adorable! Divide them into teams by fruit, have them wear the costumes, and line up by fruit.
Adding dance moves and hand gestures while singing will make it an adorable performance.
Playing bus (pretend bus play)
How about singing and doing a hand-play activity to the children’s song “Bus Pretend-Play”? The song can be tricky, so it’s okay if you can’t sing it all! Let the childcare teacher sing, and the children can sing only the parts they remember and enjoy playing bus together.
Try adding actions that match the lyrics, like pretending to drive the bus or passing a ticket to the friend next to you.
Since it’s a slightly fast-tempo song, singing it a bit more slowly can make the hand-play easier.
dramatic play
When it comes to classic performances at kindergartens, daycare centers, and elementary schools, plays are the go-to, aren’t they? Especially in daycare, watching little children earnestly say their lines and dance is adorable—even when some end up in tears, that too is so cute it brings a smile to your face.
You might think that a play is a bit difficult for one-year-olds, but if it takes the form of an extension of play, it seems doable.
Try having them dance to music and sprinkle in a few simple lines in between.
song
Singing songs is a classic activity, isn’t it? But you do need to consider the length of the song and whether it can be sung properly.
Choose songs that are easy for children to sing and enjoy, so everyone can join in.
Even if it’s difficult to sing the whole song, the caregiver can lead, and selecting songs with lots of choruses or animal sounds makes it easier for little ones—who can’t say many words yet—to participate.
Try choosing onomatopoeic, easy-to-vocalize songs.