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 hand-play songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season (81–90)
A caterpillar
May is also the season when fresh green leaves are beautiful.
Many children probably get absorbed in observing insects in parks and nature, don’t they? “One Little Caterpillar” is an adorable song that depicts a caterpillar dancing and hopping with friends, then getting tired and falling asleep! You can enjoy a fingerplay by wiggling your raised finger like a caterpillar.
Numbers appear in the lyrics, making it perfect for practicing counting! For indoor play, singing while looking at picture books or field guides may make it easier to imagine.
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.
To the Sun in the Palm of Your HandSakushi: Yanase Takashi / Sakkyoku: Izumi Taku
A wonderful song in which Takashi Yanase’s gentle lyrics and Taku Izumi’s bright melody blend beautifully, teaching us that earthworms, dragonflies, and frogs are our precious friends too.
Created in 1961 and broadcast the following year on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” it quickly captured the hearts of many.
It has since been covered by numerous artists, including Dark Ducks and BON-BON BLANCO, and featured in the film “Chiisana Jumbo” and the TV anime “Sore Ike! Anpanman.” Cherished across generations, from children to adults, this work is also perfect as a hand-play song for families to enjoy together.
Let’s draw a picture in the blue sky.Sakushi: Kazumi Kazuki / Sakkyoku: Hajime Kamishiba
A song that paints a large ship in the blue sky and sings of an adventure to a new world is full of charm that richly nurtures children’s imaginations.
Along with energetic calls and cheers, its uplifting message that expands their hopes for dreams will surely resonate deeply in children’s hearts.
Beloved in kindergartens and nursery schools, this work shines in scenes where children sing together, such as at sports days and concerts.
Its structure, which lets children move their bodies joyfully while singing, is also a major appeal that enables everyone to have fun as one.
It is a cherished piece in childcare and educational settings.
Bamboo Shoot ExercisesSakushi: Nakazawa Yoshihiro / Sakkyoku: Koshibe Nobuyoshi
Featured on numerous releases, including Nippon Columbia’s album “The Best: Kids Exercise Songs,” this piece is a bright, rhythmic track themed around the growth of bamboo shoots.
Since its release in April 2006, it has remained a favorite at sports days and in early childhood activities.
The composition is by Nobuyoshi Koshube, who worked on music for NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” for 40 years, with lyrics by Yoshihiro Nakazawa.
With a comfortable tempo and easy-to-enjoy choreography, it’s perfect not only for exercise time in kindergartens and nursery schools, but also for families to enjoy moving together at home.