Nursery rhymes I want to sing in July: fun summer songs
July, the beginning of summer, is hot but such a fun season, isn’t it?
How about singing joyfully in the hot summer to blow the heat away?
To prevent kids from getting heatstroke, spending time indoors singing fun songs is also recommended!
Here, we’ve gathered classic children’s songs and ones often sung at nurseries and kindergartens.
There are songs you can enjoy with hand play, too.
There are lots of songs children love, so sing and play together and feel the summer!
You can have a great time at home as well.
Use this as a guide so both kids and adults can have fun together!
- [Childcare] Summer songs: Full of fun! Summer nursery rhymes & finger-play songs
- [For Seniors] Speaking of July, it’s this song! A selection of tunes to enjoy the hot summer
- [Children’s Songs for June] Fun finger-play songs and traditional nursery rhymes perfect for the rainy season
- [Sea Nursery Rhymes] Fun children's songs themed around the sea
- Children’s Songs You Can Sing in August: Summer-Friendly Kids’ Songs and Fingerplay Rhymes
- Children’s songs to sing on a rainy day / children’s songs with a rain theme
- [Tanabata Children's Songs] Fun hand-play songs and a nostalgic collection of traditional nursery rhymes and folk songs
- Masterpieces that color the hot season! Summer songs recommended for the Yutori generation
- Get pumped with popular songs from “Okaasan to Issho”! A collection of timeless tunes everyone will want to sing together
- [July Karaoke Songs] Carefully selected summer classics and popular Japanese summer hits!
- A collection of cheerful nursery rhymes—songs that make you feel happy when you sing them.
- [July Songs] A selection of Japanese summer tunes perfect for the start of the season!
- Recommended summer songs for people in their 90s: A collection of Showa-era summer tunes [2026]
Nursery rhymes to sing in July: Fun summer songs (41–50)
Mambo Jimbetatsu!Sakushi sakkyoku: Beppu Nodoka
This is a playful song where beloved ocean creatures like sunfish and whale sharks make one cheerful entrance after another to a lively beat.
Created by Nodoka Beppu, who draws inspiration from children’s smiles, the song features catchy phrases that make the most of the sounds of each animal’s name.
The video on the childcare website is also very popular, suggesting it’s widely enjoyed in real settings.
Dancing as if you’re ocean creatures might spark children’s rich expressive abilities.
Nursery rhymes to sing in July: Fun summer songs (51–60)
It’s summer—time for the pool!Sakushi • Sakkyoku: Abe Naomi
A song packed with the fun of becoming underwater creatures—swimming smoothly like a frog, floating gently like a jellyfish, and playing in full character.
The cheerful chorus everyone can sing together will boost the excitement for water play.
Created by Naomi Abe, a leading figure in children’s music, this piece is also included on the February 2016 album “Asobiuta-den: Shunkashūtō Tora no Maki.” It’s perfect as a warm-up before getting into the pool—sing while moving your body with lots of energy! Make summer memories by imitating underwater creatures together as parent and child.
Squid squid dolphinSakushi: Shimoyama Kei / Sakkyoku: Fukuda Wakako
It’s a song where changing just one character—“ru”—turns it into a different creature, showcasing a brilliant wordplay idea.
Written by lyricist Kei Shimoyama and composed by Wakako Fukuda, this piece comically portrays a mischievous dolphin and an ink-squirting squid! The song was first performed on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” in January 1998 and was released as a single in August 1999.
The lively call-and-response lines in the lyrics make it perfect for parents and children to create their own original dance and have fun together.
Hyokkori Hyoutan-jimaLyrics: Hisashi Inoue / Morihisa Yamamoto ・ Music: Seiichirō Uno
It’s an exhilarating song for setting off on an adventure, with lyrics by playwrights Hisashi Inoue and Morihisa Yamamoto and music by composer Seiichirō Uno.
Its buoyant melody carries a powerful message about overcoming any hardship together with your friends.
This track is famously known as the theme song for an NHK puppet show that began airing in April 1964—some of you may have been hooked on it back then! There are many videos available with choreography, so why not use them as a reference and get moving energetically with the kids?
Whale BusSakushi: Ide Takao / Sakkyoku: Shibuya Tsuyoshi
A giant sea creature transforms into a bus and sets off on a grand adventure to Antarctica, carrying fish passengers on board! This song, which unfolds in such a playful world, is a work by the renowned duo of lyricist Takao Ide and composer Takeshi Shibuya.
Since its debut on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” in June 2006, it has been lovingly passed down and sung by many performers.
If children sing while pretending to be the driver or the passengers, they can enjoy the exhilarating feeling of traveling through the sea, while also expanding their imaginations even further.
Ms. HimawariSakushi: Koharu Kyuichiro / Sakkyoku: Nakata Yoshinao
A song that portrays everyday summer life from a child’s innocent perspective, as if talking to a big flower under the blazing sun.
Lively scenes like playing with water guns and wearing straw hats also appear, making it easy to picture a joyful summer day just by listening.
This work is known as a classic often loved in childcare settings.
In addition to singing it at nurseries and kindergartens, it might be nice to sing it at home with your child, using hand motions to share the fun of summer.
Swim! Taiyaki-kunShimon Masato
This is a song by Masato Shimon that tells the story of a taiyaki who, fed up with its boring daily life and dreaming of freedom, runs away to the sea.
Released in December 1975, the song became a massive hit, topping the charts for 11 consecutive weeks as an insert song on the children’s program Hirake! Ponkikki.
Many listeners likely remember the taiyaki’s seafaring adventure set to a wistful melody—and its slightly bittersweet ending.
Through this piece, you can not only imagine the unique sight of a taiyaki setting out to sea, but also take the opportunity to think together with your child about the deeper question: What does freedom really mean?