[For 1-year-olds] Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand Play Collection
One-year-olds are starting to move their hands and bodies and show interest in all sorts of things around them.
When you sing to them, they happily clap along to the rhythm and sway their bodies as they enjoy the music.
So this time, we’ll introduce recommended songs and popular hand-play activities for one-year-olds.
We’ve gathered plenty of hand-play songs that one-year-olds can enjoy singing, including songs with fun repeated words and songs that introduce colors and numbers as you sing.
They’ll surely keep asking, “One more time!”
These are perfect for filling small gaps between activities or as a warm-up!
- [For 1-year-olds] Performance for the school recital
- [Hand Play] Popular with kids! A collection of trendy hand-play songs and nostalgic traditional children’s songs
- Ideas for indoor play and physical activities recommended for 1-year-olds
- Get pumped with popular songs from “Okaasan to Issho”! A collection of timeless tunes everyone will want to sing together
- [Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.
- [For 0-year-olds] Recommended songs for babies: A special feature on bonding play and traditional nursery rhymes
- Kids go wild! Popular hand games and fun sing-alongs
- Nursery rhymes to sing to your baby! Recommended songs enjoyable from 0 months
- [Childcare] Fun Songs for 2-Year-Olds to Sing! Recommended Song Collection
- For 1-year-olds! Indoor play ideas that make rainy days fun
- [For 1-year-olds] Recommended picture books to read together in January
- Get pumped with kids’ favorite songs! A memorable collection of classics that will make you want to sing along
- [1st Birthday] Perfect songs for kids’ celebrations—great for birthday parties and videos
[For 1-year-olds] Fun to enjoy together! Recommended songs and hand play collection (21–30)
Get on the busSakushi sakkyoku: Taniguchi Kunihiro
Kunihiro Taniguchi’s rhythmic children’s song is brimming with charm, inviting listeners to vividly imagine the fun of riding in vehicles.
Set to a gently swaying melody, it’s a piece that lets you express with your whole body the bus’s rocking motion and the thrill of turning.
Released in May 2008 and later included in the September 2020 album “Teacher Ti’s Kids Love It! Play Songs,” the track has also been featured on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” and is frequently sung at nursery school and kindergarten events.
As a hand-play song that children can enjoy together, it’s a perfect choice for family bonding time and making memories.
a cat’s child; a kittenSakushi / Sakkyoku: Deguchi Chikara
Blending a gentle, adorable rhythm with hand-play movements, this piece is perfect for interactive play with babies from 0 years old.
Its cat-themed, charming world broadens children’s imaginations.
Satoko Yamano’s clear, transparent vocals combined with Masashi Wakamatsu’s tender arrangement weave a heartwarming melody.
Included on the album “Columbia Kids: Parent and Child Nursery Songs—Enjoy the Rhythm and Words of Songs,” released in June 2018, it is also cherished in early childhood education settings.
By making eye contact with your child and moving hands and fingers together, the circle of communication naturally grows.
It’s recommended for morning meeting time, end-of-day gatherings, and family bonding time at home.
[For 1-Year-Olds] Have Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand-Play Activities (31–40)
Five melon breads at the bakery.Sakushi: Nakagawa Hirotaka / Sakkyoku: Igirisu dōyō
Shall we sing a fun fingerplay song themed around a bakery’s melon bread together with the children? It’s an adaptation of a traditional English nursery rhyme, arranged to be familiar and appealing to Japanese kids.
The fingerplay involves counting with fingers in time with lyrics that show the bread being sold, nurturing children’s imagination.
It’s often used in early childhood settings, and this work—through which you can enjoy playful counting with children via song—is sure to be a big hit both at home and in nursery or kindergarten!
Playing bus (pretend bus play)Sakushi: Kayama Yoshiko / Sakkyoku: Yuyama Akira
This lively children’s song by Yoshiko Kayama and Akira Yuyama captures the excitement of setting off on a trip in a big bus.
Set to a rhythmic melody, it gently portrays children enjoying pretend play with vehicles.
It’s a song you can sing while moving your hands and body, so it naturally brings smiles to children’s faces.
Long cherished in childcare and educational settings, it’s also used as a play song.
With spring outing season approaching, why not sing it together as a family before a walk or a day out? If everyone enjoys it while keeping the beat, it will surely create wonderful memories in children’s hearts.
Vegetable SongYamano Satoko
Welcome to the wonderful world of vegetables! This song, hugely popular with children, is full of clever ways to help them learn the names of vegetables in a fun, rhythmic way.
With sounds that express the names and characteristics of veggies like tomatoes and cabbage, just listening will fill you with excitement.
Accompanied by Satoko Yamano’s bright and gentle voice, the vegetables make their appearances one after another.
This piece is included in many children’s music albums.
It’s also recommended for nutrition education time or for singing together with kids who aren’t fond of vegetables.
If you sing while moving your body, it becomes even more fun!
Playful Love Ai AiHanada Yuuichirou, Nagata Maya
Let me introduce a warm, cat-themed song featured on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho.” Sung by Yuichiro Hanada and Maya Nagata, this piece charms with its bright, cheerful melody that depicts cats playfully frolicking together.
Since February 2025, it has been broadcast as the show’s “Song of the Month,” with the brother-and-sister singing duo transforming into cats and performing rhythmic choreography on the program.
Filled with the feelings of Hanada, a devoted cat lover who lives with five cats, this song is perfect for moving your body to the music together with your child!
March of the RoadHanada Yuuichirou, Nagata Maya
A lively marching tune has arrived! Introducing the January 2025 “Song of the Month” from Okaasan to Issho, sung by Yuichiro Hanada and Maya Nagata.
Set to bright brass and snappy drum rhythms, this cheerful piece expresses the feeling of facing forward and moving ahead.
You can clap along to the rhythmic beat and move your body with a big smile.
It’s also included on the album “NHK Okaasan to Issho Latest Best: Hyu-rara Bun-bun!” so it can be enjoyed both at home and in childcare settings.
It’s a wonderful piece for the start of a new year, perfect for sharing the feeling of walking toward the future together with parents and children.