Recommended children's songs and hand play songs for October! Music time in childcare that feels like autumn.
The season of children’s songs that warmly embrace the heart in October has arrived.
Crimson dragonflies at dusk, cosmos flowers, golden rice ready for harvest, and children going out to collect acorns and fallen leaves… Scenes that color autumn in Japan are beautifully depicted in the lyrics and melodies of these songs.
In this article, we introduce autumn children’s songs beloved in early childhood settings, as well as seasonal finger-play songs you can enjoy with kids.
Please sing these autumn songs—cherished across generations—together with your loved ones, children and adults alike!
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Recommended Children's Songs and Hand-Play Tunes for October! Music Time in Childcare That Feels Like Autumn (51–60)
Insect sounds
Listening to insects chirp is one of the pleasures of autumn.
Some of you may have even learned the insects’ names from this song.
By the way, insects that chirp in autumn generally belong to the suborder Ensifera (katydids, crickets, etc.).
This video features the version sung by Benesse characters Shimajiro and Torippi.
Shopping at the bakery
Introducing “Shopping at the Bakery,” a partner activity you can enjoy in pairs.
It’s a fingerplay song themed around shopping at a bakery.
Two people face each other, and one person touches parts of the partner’s face in time with the lyrics.
For example, when the song mentions the crust of bread, you touch the ear; for melon bread, you touch the cheek.
You can enjoy it like a pretend errand game, and it can also spark interest in food and jobs.
It seems perfect for Labor Thanksgiving Day.
Moon
September is when we celebrate the moon-viewing festival, Tsukimi, to admire the full harvest moon.
This piece, “Tsuki” (“Moon”), is perfect to listen to while gazing at the beautiful moon.
It depicts a large, round moon floating beautifully in the pitch-black night sky.
The gentle melody matches the moon’s soft light.
As mornings and evenings grow cooler this season, it’s lovely on the night of the harvest moon to listen to this piece, sing along, and take your time admiring the moon.
And of course, no moon-viewing is complete without tsukimi dango!
Autumn Eurhythmics: Pretend-and-Play Music Time
Let’s play with eurhythmics, moving our bodies to music! We’ll move along to classic autumn children’s songs like ‘Under the Big Chestnut Tree,’ ‘Danguri Korokoro (Acorns Rolling),’ and ‘Dragonfly’s Glasses,’ as well as the perfect-for-Halloween ‘There’s No Such Thing as Ghosts.’ We’ll roll around like acorns, fly like dragonflies, and pretend to be ghosts.
There are tons of movements kids will love.
It’s a great way to get plenty of exercise indoors, so if you’re looking for indoor activities for October, give it a try!
Recommended Children’s Songs and Hand-Play Rhymes for October! Music Time in Early Childhood Education That Feels Like Autumn (61–70)
Autumn Hand Play Medley
There are lots of songs that feature autumn foods and creatures! If you add hand motions to those songs as you sing, they’ll be even more fun—no doubt about it! The songs that appear in this hand-play medley are “Yaki-guri” (Roasted Chestnuts), “Dango Kuttsuita” (The Dumplings Stuck Together), “Tonbo no Megane” (Dragonfly’s Glasses), “Konkon Kitsune” (Tap-Tap Fox), and “Donguri to Korisu” (Acorns and a Little Squirrel).
While singing, you make shapes with your hands, move in ways that match the lyrics, clap, and enjoy singing together.
Songs with a storyline become even more enjoyable when you add hand movements, because you can feel the narrative more vividly than by singing alone!
mushroomkurakake shouji
Autumn is also the season for mushroom picking.
Starting with the prized matsutake, a variety of mushrooms such as shimeji and shiitake will add color to the dining table.
This song, themed around mushrooms, is even used for activities at kindergartens.
Here you go, sweet potato!Sakushi: Mine Katsumasa / Sakkyoku: Okada Rikio
The play song “Hore Hore Satsumaimo,” featured in the childcare magazine PriPri, is a tune that lets you fully enjoy the flavors of autumn—digging up sweet potatoes, pretending to be sweet potatoes, and eating sweet potatoes.
Many preschools and kindergartens hold sweet potato digging events in the fall, so children will probably pick up this song quickly and have fun with it.
The days are cold, but if you move your body energetically, you’ll warm up in no time!