Lovely childcare

[1st Birthday] Perfect songs for kids’ celebrations—great for birthday parties and videos

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

A first birthday is a truly special moment!

To celebrate the joy of your child’s growth, why not brighten the birthday with lovely music and a heartfelt movie?

Fun songs and gentle melodies will make those smiles and memories even more wonderful.

Dance and sing together with friends and family, and enjoy a delightful time.

Be sure to celebrate with beautiful music and photos that reflect your baby’s first year of life.

May the birthday be the best day ever, filled with music and memories!

1st Birthday Celebration Songs (1–10)

rainbow-coloredayaka

Ayaka / Nijiiro Music Video

rainbow-coloredayaka

This is truly a song I want to give to a child turning one.

So many stories are about to begin.

Our little one still understands nothing yet, but the hopeful future a mother conveys will surely be felt through her smile.

The wonder of being born into this world comes through, and the title “Nijiiro” makes you feel the joy of life.

At one year old, many children can do more and more, and many moms and dads can’t take their eyes off them.

But even those moments are steps toward the future.

Let’s cherish their growth and watch over it with care.

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Yoshizaki Keiko

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To the futureayaka

Ayaka / To the Future Music Video

To the futureayaka

Welcoming a birthday and adding another year could be seen as taking a step toward the future, couldn’t it? This song, gently yet powerfully sung by Ayaka, seems to express the joy of sharing in that hope for the future and in growth.

Starting with an acoustic sound that gradually grows richer, the arrangement conveys a swell of irrepressible emotion and the strength of love.

The tender lyrics are also striking, as they carefully reflect on the small, everyday gestures a child has shown while conveying a sense of growth.

It’s a song that straightforwardly portrays the wish to keep watching over that growth forever and the strong love that wants to move forward together into the future.

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The day you were bornSakushi: Nasu Akiko / Sakkyoku: Makirika

Image song for the Love Song Grand Prize written by Mom, “The Day You Were Born.”

The day you were bornSakushi: Nasu Akiko / Sakkyoku: Makirika

This is the theme song for the 2010 project “Love Songs Written by Moms,” led by composer Makirika and photographer Kana Takemoto.

With lyrics penned by mothers of newborns, the words evoke memories of a baby’s earliest days and resonate directly with the heart.

The simple, warm sound is also lovely.

On your child’s first birthday, why not listen to this song and take a moment to renew your feelings of gratitude for them?

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1st birthday celebration song (11–20)

Sketchaimyon

Sketch

Sketchaimyon

As the theme song for the film “Doraemon: Nobita’s Picture-Perfect Story,” Aimyon delivers vocals filled with warm friendship.

This work depicts the precious memories in children’s hearts, set to a gentle melody.

It captures picture-like moments—watching over Nobita with affection as he dozes off during everyday life with Doraemon.

Released simultaneously with the movie in March 2025, this song is recommended as a tender track that parents and children can enjoy together, and as a lovely memory for your child’s first birthday.

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Thanks a lotLGYankees ft. Yoshimi Issei

"Seriously, thank you" PV 'First Birthday' (child growth record video) / KIDS / event / celebration / Baby

Thanks a lotLGYankees ft. Yoshimi Issei

This is a track included on the hip-hop solo unit LGYankees’ 2011 album BARIBARI LGYankees.

Featuring guest vocalist Issei Yoshimi—a singer with the unusual background of having been a professional soccer player—the song, as its title suggests, is a heartfelt expression of gratitude.

What makes it particularly compelling is its structure: after the male protagonist becomes a father, he is reminded of how much love his own parents gave him.

There’s so much you only come to understand once you become a parent yourself, isn’t there?

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Thank youikimonogakari

Ikimonogakari 'Arigatou' Music Video

Thank youikimonogakari

It’s one of Ikimonogakari’s signature songs, the theme for the 2010 NHK morning drama series Gegege no Nyobo, and it became a huge hit.

It’s often sung as a graduation song and is so well known it even appears in music textbooks—an emotional number beloved as a classic of 2010s J-pop.

Taken at face value, the lyrics make it a love song, but I feel it also conveys gratitude to someone important in a more universal sense.

Why not use it to express your heartfelt thanks to your most precious child, along with all your love?

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Seed of JoyYU-KI

YUKI “Seeds of Joy”

Seed of JoyYU-KI

YUKI’s “Yorokobi no Tane,” released in 2005, is her 12th single and was used as the theme song for the film Touch.

Warm and comforting, this song would make a lovely gift as a birthday tune.

When you listen to it while thinking of your child, it somehow moves you to tears, yet also fills you with happiness.

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