Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season
In dazzlingly green May, many of you are surely looking for children’s songs and hand-play tunes to sing with kids at daycare or at home.
Songs that evoke spring really capture children’s hearts and add color to everyday activities.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of nursery rhymes and hand-play songs perfect for May.
From familiar, easy-to-sing melodies to ones that get kids moving, we’ve got a wide range—so try incorporating them into your daily childcare and parent-child time!
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Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Perfect songs for the season of fresh greenery (71–80)
Let’s go to the zoo.Sakushi: Umino Yōji / Sakkyoku: T. Paxton
May has pleasant weather, and many kindergartens and nursery schools go on field trips.
If you’re heading to the zoo, we recommend the song “Let’s Go to the Zoo”! This song, which has been aired on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” and “Okaasan to Issho,” is based on “Goin’ to the Zoo” by American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton.
The lyrics describe going to the zoo and spotting lots of animals, and they also include animal sounds, so children can enjoy singing it like a wordplay game.
Sing the song and head to the zoo to look for the animals that appear in the lyrics!
Watermelon-producing regionsakushi: takada sankuzou/genkyoku: amerika min’yō
This song is a Japanese piece based on the American folk song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” and many of you have probably played the hand game that goes with it.
The lyricist Sakuzo Takada, who wrote the Japanese lyrics for this song, also adapted many other well-loved foreign songs in Japan, including “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Ten Little Indians,” and “London Bridge.”
a big drumSakushi: Kobayashi Junichi / Sakkyoku: Nakada Yoshinao
The steadily resounding drumbeats can be a little startling, but they’re exciting, aren’t they? The children’s song “Big Drum” almost makes you feel like you can hear those fun drum sounds.
It sings about playing a big drum and a small drum, and you enjoy it with dynamics—singing loudly for the big drum parts and softly for the small drum parts.
It’s great as a hand-play song, pretending to beat the drums while you sing! In warm, energetic May, try singing it as if you’re joyfully playing the drums.
Nursery rhymes and hand-play songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season (81–90)
Piglet-raccoon dog-fox-catSakushi/Sakkyoku: Yamamoto Naozumi
A hand-play nursery song by Naotsumi Yamamoto that captures children’s hearts with adorable animal sounds and a friendly melody.
The lyrics cleverly link four animals in a word-chain style, blending the fun of moving your body with hand-play choreography.
Broadcast on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” and later beloved in choral versions as well, it has continued to be cherished by many parents and children.
Why not become animals together with your child, move your arms and legs wide, and enjoy a moment full of smiles?
rainbowSakushi: Shinzawa Toshihiko / Sakkyoku: Nakagawa Hirotaka
A gem of a song by Toshihiko Shinzawa and Hirotaka Nakagawa, it gently sings of hopeful expectations for tomorrow, themed around meeting a seven-colored rainbow in the garden after the rain.
Since its release in 1990, it has been loved by many for its lyrics that depict small everyday joys and its warm melody.
In 2020, it was featured as the commercial song for Kao’s “Attack ZERO,” revealing new charm alongside striking visuals starring Tori Matsuzaka and others.
It’s a tune you’ll want the whole family to hum together, especially when you’re feeling down.
Toy Cha-Cha-ChaSakushi: Nosaka Akiyuki / Sakkyoku: Koshibe Nobuyoshi
When it comes to things kids absolutely love, toys are at the top of the list! On Children’s Day, many children probably get their favorite toys as gifts.
Here’s a perfect toy-themed song for such a day! Interestingly, it wasn’t originally a children’s song, and the lyrics were different from what they are now.
It was later remade as a nursery rhyme, and that’s the version still sung today.
There’s also an English version called “Toys Dance The Cha Cha Cha,” so curious kids can give it a listen and practice their English at the same time!
one bamboo shootwarabe uta
Takenoko Ippon is a game themed around bamboo shoots, which are in season in spring.
Players split into two roles: the oni (tagger) who pulls out the bamboo shoot, and the bamboo shoots themselves.
The game starts with the oni’s call.
In response to the chant, “Give me X bamboo shoots,” the players acting as bamboo shoots react.
If the oni manages to pull someone out of the line and separate them, they take that person back to their side.
The game lets kids enjoy a variety of movements, like clinging to teachers or friends or being carried.
Try this unique game both indoors and outdoors.
