Masterpieces that sing about play. Recommended popular songs.
We’ve put together a collection of songs themed around childhood games like hide-and-seek, marbles, swings, and paper airplanes.
Packed with bittersweet nostalgia for the games everyone has experienced and the tender, aching feelings of childhood, this playlist is full of heart-tugging tracks.
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Timeless songs about play: Recommended popular tracks (41–50)
Picnicdeguchi takashi
A song that gently portrays the fun of a picnic in a meadow and warm interactions with flowers and insects, highlighted by Takashi Deguchi’s uniquely soothing vocals.
Released on an album in November 2022, it was also featured on a children’s educational TV program.
Perfect as a fingerplay song for singing and dancing with kids—ideal for activities at daycare and kindergarten, as well as family bonding time.
Since numbers appear in the lyrics, it’s also great for practicing counting!
Classic songs about play. Recommended popular songs (51–60)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your handsSakamoto Kyu
“If You’re Happy and You Know It” is a classic fingerplay song everyone knows! Many parents probably learned it in nursery school or kindergarten.
The great thing about this game is that it’s fun whether you play alone, with one other person, or in a big circle.
You can enjoy parent-child bonding by facing each other and clapping hands, or patting each other’s shoulders.
Each action is simple, but if you gradually increase the difficulty by combining hands, feet, and shoulders, it will get even more exciting.
Happy ChildrenShinzawa Toshihiko
This song, created by Toshihiko Shinzawa and Hirotaka Nakagawa, is a bright dance tune themed around the power of children’s innocence and smiles to bring happiness to those around them.
With its light rhythm and memorable melody, it’s an easy-to-sing-and-dance-to track that kids can’t help but hum along to.
Released in 2001, the song has been loved by many for years and is widely used in educational settings and at events.
It’s also great to dance to together with nursery and kindergarten teachers!
What should I be when I grow up?
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.
It fell, it fell.
Nostalgic and old-fashioned “Ochita Ochita,” a hand-clapping song that many adults probably played with when they were children.
It’s a simple, game-like hand play where you decide how to catch what “falls,” and that’s the fun of it.
If it’s an apple, you can catch it with your hands; if it’s a doll, cradle it gently.
And when lightning falls—yes—make the gesture of hiding your belly button.
It’s fun to throw in the lightning right when everyone’s forgotten about it!
Department store with the penguin logo
How about a fun fingerplay song for kids featuring a penguin-brand department store? In this song, you go floor by floor through the store, with different shops making an appearance, making it a delightful experience.
Children act out the lyrics with hand movements and gestures, which nurtures their imagination and physical expression.
They’ll be excited each time to see which shop comes next.
It’s popular with middle and older kindergarten classes, and combining it with a sketchbook theater or panel theater makes it even more enjoyable!
mixed juice
This is a hand-play song themed around mixed juice, a drink full of various fruits that kids love.
In the mixed juice made in this song, we mix apples, grapes, strawberries, and cherries.
Each fruit is hidden among facial features that resemble the shape of that fruit.
Once you find the fruits in the face, use your arms to show putting them into a blender and mixing them.
When the mixed juice is ready, give it as a present to your friends or to Mom and Dad—they’ll surely be delighted!
