Having a rich repertoire of fingerplay songs keeps children from getting bored and gives adults a sense of ease.
You can use them in many ways—while preparing for the next activity, or as a calm introduction to help children listen attentively.
Above all, children love fingerplay songs with their variety of themes and rhythms.
Adults will surely feel soothed watching little ones smile and mimic the motions with their tiny hands.
Be sure to use this article to learn some new fingerplay songs!
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Popular Hand Games and Hand-Game Songs for Toddlers and Children! Full of Ideas for Childcare (1–10)
mochi pounding
This is a two-person hand game that mimics pounding mochi.
It takes practice because you need to coordinate with your partner, but once you get it, kids will be thrilled.
One person plays the mortar that kneads the mochi: they open both hands wide up and down and clap in a steady rhythm.
The other person plays the mallet that pounds and kneads: they touch the upward-facing palms of the “mortar” as they clap, and trace quick circles above them.
In the latter part, the mallet player moves their hands up and down in rhythm, going back and forth with claps so as not to get “caught” between the mortar player’s hands.
It might look pretty tricky even for adults, but kids who love fun games might master it in no time!
green peas
The game “Green Peas” is a rock-paper-scissors game played to the chant of “Green peas.” Players throw rock, paper, or scissors in time with the chant.
But it doesn’t end right after the throw! The winner then says a rhythmic phrase depending on the winning hand: if they won with rock, they say “Gurin-gurin,” with scissors “Chorin-chorin,” and with paper “Parin-parin,” keeping the beat.
After repeating this twice, players call out the next hand they’ll throw and play rock-paper-scissors again.
This continues until there’s a tie; when that happens, the winner is determined by who can say “Don!” faster.
In other words, your reflexes at the moment of a tie decide the outcome.
It’s an easy, rhythm-based game that anyone can enjoy!
It fell, it fell.
Ochi-ta Ochi-ta is a slightly thrilling hand-clapping song where various things fall from above.
First, everyone claps along to the rhythm.
Then the leader says the name of something that’s falling.
Use your hands to “catch” whatever it is! But it’s not always a physical object.
For example, when lightning is falling, hide your belly button so it doesn’t get taken.
When a fist is falling, protect yourself by covering your head.
Try making up all kinds of variations and have fun playing!
Crocodile family
This fingerplay song features a delightfully cheerful crocodile family.
Dad Croc, Mom Croc, Big Brother Croc, Big Sister Croc, and Baby Croc each appear, with lyrics that highlight their traits.
As you rhythmically sing “Daddy Crocodile…,” you use your arms and hands to mimic a crocodile’s mouth.
Enjoy acting out each character’s personality, too: Daddy Croc shaves his beard, and Mommy Croc puts on makeup.
Each gesture is humorous, sure to bring smiles to children’s faces.
The final Baby section is performed in a small, quiet voice, making it a great way to help children settle down and listen at the start of an activity.
What will you be when you grow up?
As children get more chances to experience different things, they start imagining various dreams for the future, don’t they? A perfect fingerplay song for times like that is “What Will I Be When I Grow Up?” The hints for what to become are the numbers made with fingers.
Different professions appear that relate to the shapes formed by holding up one finger, two fingers, and so on.
Doctors, bakers, sumo wrestlers—there’s a wide variety.
It’s also great to imagine even more things from the finger-made numbers and adapt them into other jobs!
Bamboo Shoot Gnocchi
The game “Takenoko Nyokki,” which was played when the popular quiz show Nep League aired late at night.
Players have fun by calling out “1 nyokki,” “2 nyokki,” and so on, mimicking bamboo shoots sprouting.
The person who’s left until the end or anyone who speaks at the same time as someone else loses.
There are also rules like losing if you make three mistakes, or if you speak at the same time as someone who has already made two mistakes.
It’s even more fun if you add your own house rules! When learning the rules, start with a small group.
mixed juice
When it comes to a juice packed with lots of fruits that kids love, it’s got to be mixed juice! This song, which sings about the process of making that mixed juice, is aptly titled “Mixed Juice.” In this version, we add apple, grape, strawberry, and cherry.
Surprisingly, these fruits seem to be hidden inside a face.
Find each fruit by looking at the face parts that resemble their shapes, and put them into the blender! Once you’ve found them all, mix the fruits in the blender.
When it’s ready, give it as a gift to your teacher or friends.
Ten thousand feet in the Alps
“Arupusu Ichimanjaku” is a hand-clapping game played in pairs, facing each other.
Since you match hands and make contact, the two players need to be perfectly in sync.
You clap to the melody and flip your joined hands over.
There’s a simple version with fewer movements and a more elaborate version with more actions.
In the version with more movements, whether you use your left or right hand at each moment determines if the pattern comes out correctly, so the players need even better coordination.
In fact, this song doesn’t just have the famous verse—there are actually up to 29 verses.
If you’re curious, be sure to check them out!
The Bento Bus
The hand-play song “Obento Bus” is about packing lots of different items into a lunchbox.
Imagining the lunchbox as a bus, the song describes loading various menu items onto the lunchbox bus from different places.
As voices call out from here and there—“Let me ride the lunchbox bus!”—a variety of foods climb aboard.
Since it has a counting-play element, when you do the hand motions, sing while using your fingers to show the names of the items and how many you’re packing.
Because you’ll be stuffing the lunchbox bus with so many things, use your arms to show how it gets more and more crammed, too!
Thunder God has arrived.
When thunder rumbles, where do you hide? In “Here Comes Mr.
Thunder,” various parts of the body—starting with your belly button—get hidden when Mr.
Thunder appears.
At first, you mimic the sound of his arrival by pretending to beat a drum, and make Mr.
Thunder’s horns by raising one finger on each hand.
After that, when a body part that Mr.
Thunder will take is called out, you quickly cover that spot with your hands.
It’s not just the classic belly button, so listen carefully to find out which part Mr.
Thunder is coming for next!