[Hand Play] Popular with kids! A collection of trendy hand-play songs and nostalgic traditional children’s songs
Hand-play songs that you can sing and play are hugely popular with children, aren’t they?
As times change, lots of new hand-play songs have appeared, and through these songs you can really feel children’s interests and curiosity.
Trendy songs are fun, but we also want to cherish the traditional warabe-uta that have been sung for generations.
Their melodies are warm, the back-and-forth of the words is amusing, and the fact that you can sing them without a piano is also very appealing.
This time, we’ll introduce plenty of hand-play songs that are favorites with kids!
From trending hits popular in childcare settings to traditional warabe-uta, we’ve got a full lineup of hand-play games that will bring smiles to children’s faces.
Be sure to join in and play along!
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- [February Songs] Introducing children's songs, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and hand-play songs about Setsubun and winter!
- Nostalgic Children’s Songs, Folk Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: The Heart of Japan Passed Down Through Song
- Useful for childcare! Today’s recommended recreational activities, including fingerplay and games!
- Popular hand games and hand game songs for toddlers and children! Full of ideas for childcare/early childhood education.
[Hand Play] Popular with kids! Trendy hand play songs & nostalgic traditional children's songs collection (11–20)
Ochara-ka-hoi
Children have always loved the hand-clapping song that starts with the chant, “Se-se-se no yoi yoi yoi,” haven’t they? In this song, called “Ocharaka Hoi,” you alternately clap hands facing up and down with yourself and your partner, then play rock-paper-scissors.
The winner strikes a winning pose, and the loser takes a losing pose.
You repeat this over and over.
It’s a hand-clapping game that can go on forever.
Are you okay? Whoops.Sakushi sakkyoku: Suzuki Tsubasa
Tsubasa Suzuki’s finger-play songs are full of charm that brings smiles to children’s faces.
With surreal elements that include animals stumbling and falling, they turn into irresistibly funny tunes.
The rhythmic lyrics and cute choreography make it easy for kids to move their bodies and have fun.
This track is available on CD and via digital distribution, and is included on the album “Inai Inai Wao!” It’s also highly recommended for nursery and kindergarten teachers.
Sing and dance together with the children, and you’re sure to have a wonderful time!
Full Moon Night’s Mochi Pounding
In “Jugo-ya-san no Mochitsuki,” two players face each other: one pounds the mochi and the other kneads it.
The person pounding keeps a steady rhythm with hand claps, while the person kneading slips their hands in during the intervals between the claps.
This song is adapted in various ways depending on the season when mochi is made.
For example, for Hinamatsuri it becomes “Mochitsuki on March 3rd,” and for New Year’s it’s “New Year’s Mochitsuki.”
peach, apple, pear, pineapple
This hand-clapping song, where fruits pop up rhythmically, is a big hit with kids! It’s so much fun to tap different body parts as you sing, and it naturally brings out smiles.
The lyrics are simple, so children can learn them right away.
It’s great not only for learning fruit names but also for learning body parts at the same time.
It’s highly recommended for nursery and kindergarten teachers to use as an autumn activity.
Wearing colorful fruit costumes would be super cute, too!
One person, two people
This is a nursery rhyme that delights babies.
While singing “ichiri, niri, sanri,” you gently grasp and jiggle in order: the ankles, the knees, and the tops of the legs (hip joints).
Then, after a brief pause, you tickle them while saying “shiri shiri shiri~!!” Kids remember it after just one try, so if you vary the way you say the final “shiri,” they enjoy it even more.
You can also adapt it by jiggling the hands as well as the feet.
Thunder God has arrived.
Rumble, rumble—oh no, the very scary Thunder Ogre has arrived! “The Thunder Ogre Is Coming” is a fingerplay song that’s a little scary, where the Thunder Ogre threatens to take your belly button and all sorts of other parts.
But if you quickly cover the named spot with your hands, you’ll be safe.
When the Thunder Ogre is coming, make drumming motions like beating a drum, or form horns like an ogre to show his arrival.
After that, the song tells you which place to hide, so be sure to cover that spot firmly with both hands.
And it’s not just your belly button, so watch out!
Department store with the penguin logo
How about a fun fingerplay song for kids featuring a penguin-brand department store? In this song, you go floor by floor through the store, with different shops making an appearance, making it a delightful experience.
Children act out the lyrics with hand movements and gestures, which nurtures their imagination and physical expression.
They’ll be excited each time to see which shop comes next.
It’s popular with middle and older kindergarten classes, and combining it with a sketchbook theater or panel theater makes it even more enjoyable!
kakeru kakeruSakushi: Fukuda Sho / Sakkyoku: Suzuki Tsubasa
When it comes to hand-clapping songs that kids absolutely love, this is the one! With its fun, upbeat lyrics and choreography, you can’t help but move your body.
The way the song applies the action “kakeru” to various things is really unique and sparks children’s imagination.
Featured on the album “Shō-kun & Tsū-kun’s Tangled—Tehe!”, the song was created by childcare professionals Sho Fukuda and Tsubasa Suzuki, so it’s a big hit in childcare settings, too! There’s also a choreography video available on YouTube, so parents and guardians can enjoy it together.
It’s perfect for morning circle, end-of-day circle, or any small pockets of free time.
It’s starting.
This hand-play song, “Hajimaruyo” (“It’s Starting”), is perfect for gathering children together—for example, before reading a book aloud or before lunch.
It also works as a counting game: with both hands, children make the numbers from 1 to 5 using their fingers.
Then they use those numbers to act out things like ninja, cat whiskers, and bird wings.
Try to draw the children in by the time the bird appears—teachers and moms and dads, give it your most fun, energetic vibe! Of course, you can do it together with the kids once they’ve gathered, too.
It will make the story time or mealtime that follows even more enjoyable!
Pop the egg
Eggs are a nutritious ingredient you can enjoy as they are, or cooked by frying or boiling.
Some people may remember watching their mothers skillfully crack eggs while cooking and feeling, as a child, that they wanted to try it too.
The song “Tamago wo Bon!” (Pop Goes the Egg!) is a fun, lively hand-play tune that parents and children can enjoy together.
It could be a great idea to ask children what dishes could be made after cracking the egg, without giving a ‘correct’ answer, and let them respond freely.
And for kids who guess well, be sure to actually make them treats like tamagoyaki or pancakes!
