Get excited! A list of popular and fun hand games that captivate children

What should I be when I grow up?

[Children’s Song & Finger Play] What Will You Be When You Grow Up? / gaagaaS [Childcare/Parenting/Children’s Songs]

Ooki-kunattara Nanni Narou (“What Will I Be When I Grow Up?”) is another recommended fingerplay song that you can enjoy while letting your imagination grow.

First, you raise one finger, pretend it’s a syringe, and play the role of a doctor.

Next, you use two fingers as scissors and become a barber, then three fingers as a whisk to become a baker—adding more fingers each time to take on different jobs.

Children can watch with excitement, wondering, “What will I be next?” and it can also inspire them to think about their future dreams.

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yamamoto

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Mochi Glasses & Mochi-Pounding Peta-peta-petan-ko

[January Fingerplay] Mochi Glasses♪ “Mochi-Pounding Pettan Pettanko~” A song kids sing every day at nursery school/kindergarten after winter break! Children’s song! (With lyrics)

When making mochi, we use the onomatopoeic word “pettan,” don’t we? In this fingerplay song, you touch your thumb to each of your other fingers in time with that sound to act out pounding mochi.

And what you end up with isn’t a kagami-mochi, but… mochi glasses! They look like they’d really stick to your face, but it seems like a fun way to spark kids’ imaginations about what to make with mochi.

Moving your fingers precisely is trickier than it looks, so start slowly at first.

Once you get the hang of it, try speeding up for a challenge.

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sasashina

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Fun for adults too! “Fluffy Snow”

January hand game “Fluffy Snow♪” (with lyrics) – a winter hand play that childcare workers and moms and dads recommend, and that children love! Nursery rhyme & Japanese children’s song

This is a fingerplay song where you build a snowman and look for numbers hidden in the lyrics.

It doesn’t include every number from 1 to 9, but there are surprisingly many hidden ones—see how many you can find.

In this fingerplay, the snowman’s eyes are made with mandarins, the nose with a carrot, and the eyebrows with a cucumber.

It’s fun to imagine what the face will look like.

Asking “What would you use to make yours?” will likely get everyone excited.

When it snows, try making the snowman you imagined.

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sasashina

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New Year’s rice-cake pounding hand play

@soiflhoiku

This is a hand game about making mochi for New Year’s.#Nursery schoolKindergarten TeacherAspiring childcare workerNursery teacher / Childcare worker#NurseryTeacherThingschild1 year old2 years oldNursery School Practicum#NurseryTeacherThingsHand gamesNew Year#MochitsukiPettan#MochitsukiNew Year hand gamesJanuary hand play#NewYearMochiPounding

♬ Everyday songs with a cute and slightly blurred atmosphere(1277086) – Sumochi

In Japan, pounding rice cakes (mochi) is a year-end tradition.

So how about introducing a hand-play activity themed around mochi pounding as a January game? Along with motions that knead and pound the mochi to the song, there’s a fun game element where you clap your hands at set positions—top, middle, and bottom.

At the end, you make kagami-mochi and everyone enjoys it together.

Kids who experienced it at the end of the year will likely say, “I know this!” and have fun, and even those who haven’t done mochi pounding may become interested through this hand-play song.

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sasashina

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Cha-cha-cha of the Snowman

Recommended for January: Winter fingerplay song “Snowman Cha-Cha-Cha” #NurserySchool #NurseryTeacher #Shorts #ASKNurserySchool #PreschoolPracticum

Here’s a hand-play song with a wintery theme of “snow” and “snowmen.” In this song, you first use both hands to show snow falling and piling up.

Then, you touch your fingertips together to make the round shape of a snowman, and finally, you rotate your clenched hands in front of your chest to show a dancing snowman.

It’s short, but it sparks children’s imaginations and teaches them the joy of playing in the snow.

If the part where you clap quickly three times is difficult, slow down the overall tempo and enjoy it at a comfortable speed.

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sasashina

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Thunder God has arrived.

[Super Popular Hand-Play Song] Mr. Thunder Has Come

The hand game “Kaminari-don ga Yattekita” is a fun activity that excites children.

The movements of hiding different body parts in time with the song create visual interest and a sense of suspense.

Caregivers can also see how their children enjoy the rhythm, and it seems like an activity that could be incorporated at home.

Through play, children learn the names of body parts and deepen their communication with the teacher.

It’s recommended as a hand game for nursery schools and kindergartens that lets everyone move their bodies together and have fun!

gluttonous gorilla

[Hand Play Song] The Greedy Gorilla [With Singing and Movements]

A fun hand play about a foodie gorilla that’s sure to get everyone excited.

In “Gorilla the Glutton,” kids learn the names of foods while everyone mimics the gorilla’s expressions and movements.

It feels like play but can also tie into food education.

It tickles children’s imaginations and fills the time with smiles.

Keeping a brisk tempo or mixing in trick questions makes it even more fun.

It could be great to try right before school lunch.

No prep needed and you can do it anywhere, so it’s perfect for small pockets of time.