[Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy Together
May 5th is Tango no Sekku—Children’s Day, a holiday celebrating children’s healthy growth! Many families decorate with carp streamers and samurai dolls and enjoy a festive meal.
In this article, we’ve gathered some recommended hand-play songs perfect for Children’s Day.
How about trying them with your family after the celebration? These are all ideal for kids in nursery school and kindergarten, so have fun adding Children’s Day–themed twists as you play!
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[Hand Play Songs for Children’s Day] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy (31–40)
The Curry Rice Song
If your family is planning to make your child’s favorite curry on Children’s Day, try singing this “Curry and Rice Song” with hand motions! The song goes through the steps of making curry rice by adding ingredients, and ends with enjoying the delicious meal.
As you sing, shape the ingredients with your hands and use motions to show putting them into the pot.
When it’s time to eat, make sure to use big, hearty eating motions! Once you can sing this hand-play song, you might even be able to help Mom or Dad with the cooking!
Crocodile family
A hand-play song that kids of various ages can enjoy together.
As its name suggests, the hand-play song “Crocodile Family” features a crocodile family in the lyrics: father, mother, big brother, big sister, and baby.
You use both arms to represent the crocodile’s characteristic big mouth.
Since the father is big, the movements are large; when it’s the baby, you use your fingers to show the crocodile’s mouth.
It’s a hand-play song where the reaction size changes to match body size.
Crocodiles can be scary, but as a hand-play song, they somehow seem cute.
Let’s clap our hands
The children’s song “Let’s Clap Our Hands” — the great thing about this hand-play song is how easy it is to remember: each verse has just three moves—clapping hands, stamping feet, and expressing an emotion.
Clapping and stamping are fun and can be done right away, and there’s also lots of freedom to create your own expressions and gestures—like “smiling” in the first verse or “getting angry” in the second—depending on the performer.
It’s also a great recommendation for a child’s first hand-play activity before kindergarten!
Let’s clap our hands
This is another traditional hand-play song that even grandparents are familiar with: “Musunde Hiraite.” It’s a simple hand-play song where you mostly use your hands to clench tightly and then open wide as you play.
Above all, it’s a famous song that the whole family can enjoy, so it’s great to teach when everyone gets together, like during home visits or New Year’s.
In this way, it’s a fun, time-honored hand-play song that keeps being passed down to the next generation.
Bamboo Shoot ExercisesSakushi: Nakazawa Yoshihiro / Sakkyoku: Koshibe Nobuyoshi
Featured on numerous releases, including Nippon Columbia’s album “The Best: Kids Exercise Songs,” this piece is a bright, rhythmic track themed around the growth of bamboo shoots.
Since its release in April 2006, it has remained a favorite at sports days and in early childhood activities.
The composition is by Nobuyoshi Koshube, who worked on music for NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” for 40 years, with lyrics by Yoshihiro Nakazawa.
With a comfortable tempo and easy-to-enjoy choreography, it’s perfect not only for exercise time in kindergartens and nursery schools, but also for families to enjoy moving together at home.
[Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids (41–50)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Hand play with a song everyone knows! Let’s introduce “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It’s also one of the songs often sung as a lullaby.
How about incorporating it into your activities as a hand play this time? Imagine your palms as stars and express the sparkling, shining stars.
The choreography is easy to understand and doesn’t have any complex movements, so it seems enjoyable from infant to preschool classes.
Try adding “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to eurhythmics, morning meetings, or closing circles.
The fish jumps.
A refreshing hand game! Let me share some ideas for “Sakana ga Hanete” (Fish Jumping).
When you think of summer, many people probably imagine watersides like rivers and the sea, right? This is a unique fish-themed hand game you’ll want to use before fish-related crafts or dances.
Before starting the game, it could be fun to ask the children how they would react if a fish suddenly jumped—boing!—out of the water.
In this playful activity, fish hop onto different parts of the body and stick there, then keep transforming one after another—such a unique hand game!