[June Nursery Rhymes] Perfect for the rainy season! A fun collection of hand-play songs and traditional children’s songs
In rainy June, when we spend more time indoors, we often find ourselves wondering, “What should we play?” At times like these, hand-play games and nursery rhymes perfect for the rainy season are a big help.
Hand-play songs featuring motifs unique to this time of year—like snails and raindrops—are sure to captivate children from infants to preschoolers.
There’s nothing better than the moment kids’ faces light up as they move their fingers to the rhythm.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of hand-play activities and nursery rhymes that you can easily incorporate into June childcare or parent–child time.
Find your favorites and enjoy singing and playing together, even on rainy days!
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[Children’s Songs for June] Perfect for the rainy season! A fun collection of hand-play songs and traditional nursery rhymes (21–30)
The Clock Song
A song that every adult probably knows and has sung at least once: “The Clock Song.” June 10 is Time Day in Japan.
This short and cute tune is a very famous children’s song that you can sing without a hitch; the lyrics are by Keisuke Tsutsui and the music is by Taro Murakami.
Although the title is “The Clock Song,” in the lyrics the clock is affectionately called “O-tokei-san,” sung from a child’s perspective, which makes it feel friendly and endearing.
It refers to the minute hand as the “grown-up hand” and the hour hand as the “child hand,” making it a recommended song for children who are just starting to take an interest in clocks and time.
Thunder God has arrived.
When it rains, we often hear more rumbles of thunder, don’t we? At times like that, let’s sing “Kaminari-don ga Yattekita” and make sure to protect the important parts of our bodies.
Imitate Kaminari-don coming in with drums by making drum-beating motions to match the lyrics and forming horns with your hands.
After that, you’ll be told which parts you need to hide, so use your hands to cover and protect the places mentioned! There may be more than one spot to cover.
Feel free to mix it up by naming different places and have fun with it!
[Children’s Songs for June] Perfect for the rainy season! A fun collection of hand-play songs and traditional nursery rhymes (31–40)
teru teru bozu (a traditional Japanese handmade doll hung to wish for good weather)
In Japan, it has long been customary to make teru-teru bōzu when it looks like rain, in hopes of clear skies the next day.
This is a hand-play song inspired by those teru-teru bōzu.
Some of the weather-wishing lines can be sung as a round, so adding gestures and movements can make it even more fun!
plip-plop (raindrops falling)
“Pottsun Potsu-Potsu” is a traditional hand-play song that mimics the way rain falls.
The melody is steady and spoken in tone, making it easy to sing even for those who aren’t confident singers.
It’s a hand game where you make raindrops with your fingers on the other person’s palm.
For the light rain part, lightly tap with your fingertips; for the heavy rain part, raise your vocal tone a bit and exaggerate the tickling motion.
Since it can be done one-on-one, face to face, it’s perfect for indoor play and helps deepen physical bonding with children.
rainfall
When you were a child, didn’t you ever feel somehow happy even when it rained? As an adult, you might often feel down… but this cheerful piece reminds you that songs and games you can only enjoy on rainy days can be nice once in a while.
Each short story-like song always ends with a part where the sound of rain and a joyful feeling are expressed in words and sung, and it seems like singing together as a parent and child would make the mood even brighter.
Do-Re-Mi Song
From children to adults, everyone knows the “Do-Re-Mi” song! Did you know it actually has a special connection to June? It’s said that June 24 marks the commemorative day when, in the early 11th century, the Italian music teacher Guido d’Arezzo created the prototype of the musical scale and the notation used to record it.
It could be even more fun to try arranging each Do-Re-Mi as a parody version.
A frog
When you hear the croaking “geko-geko” outside during the rainy season with all its showers, you naturally think of frogs, right? Here’s a fingerplay song featuring those frogs: “One Little Frog.” You sing while using the fingers on both hands to show how many frogs appear.
Although the title is “One Little Frog,” five frogs end up appearing in total.
Keep your fingers showing the current number of frogs, and sing while moving your hands in ways that match the lyrics.
This song can be arranged in many ways beyond fingerplay! For example, you can sing with a frog puppet, or make frogs out of origami or a milk carton and move them as you sing.
Enjoy the rainy season indoors with these fun ideas!