[Music Play] Children’s Recreational Music: Rec Songs You Can Sing and Play
We’re introducing playful songs and recreation songs that you can enjoy with children!
We’ve gathered a wide variety—from classic folk dance and campfire songs to rounds, hand-play songs, and playful tunes perfect for bus activities.
They’re all songs that everyone will say, “I’ve heard this before!” so you can use them for recreation with confidence.
The folk dance songs also come with choreography tutorial videos, so please use them as a reference.
Let’s sing together and have a wonderful time!
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- Kids will love it! A collection of dance song ideas with easy-to-follow rhythms
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- [Partner Song] Singing two different songs simultaneously! Nursery rhymes & the latest hits
- [For Kids] Songs Perfect for Dancing at Christmas — A Full Roundup
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Childcare: Today's recommended fun songs
- Funny songs recommended for kids: Japanese music that will make you laugh without even trying when you listen.
- [Rhythm Play] A roundup of popular cup songs
- Classic songs for musical chairs. A carefully curated selection of easy-to-walk-to, crowd-pleasing tracks.
- Get pumped with kids’ favorite songs! A memorable collection of classics that will make you want to sing along
[Music Play] Children's Recreational Music: Sing-and-Play Rec Songs (11–20)
Where are you from?
“Antagata Dokosa,” beloved as a temari (handball) song, is a simple game you can enjoy during free time on field trips or at camp.
You bounce a ball to the rhythm, and whenever the syllable “sa” appears in the lyrics, you pass the ball under your leg.
別バージョンもあって、地面に「田」の漢字（米の田んぼ）を書き、下の2マスをリズミカルに行き来して、「さ」が来たら前のマスにジャンプするやり方です。
It’s nice that you can enjoy it in two ways, with or without a ball.
Give it a try in whichever style you prefer!
Camp da Hoi
Camp Dahoi is a perfect song for camping, written and composed by Mike Maki, who is active as a folk singer and actor.
The lyrics portray the joy of fully enjoying the sights and creatures you see for the first time at a campsite together with new friends.
There’s also a hand-play choreography to match the music, where you move both hands side to side like a big “banzai,” and use your hands to depict the scenery mentioned in the lyrics.
In the latter half of the song, it’s nice to hold hands with your friends, too! It’s the perfect song to deepen bonds with new friends while saying, “Looking forward to being friends from here on out.”
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands
“If You’re Happy and You Know It” is a song that uses different parts of the body to make sounds and express happy feelings.
Based on the American folk song “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands,” it became popular in Japan after Kyu Sakamoto sang it in 1964.
Using the body parts mentioned in the lyrics, you clap your hands like applause, stomp your feet loudly, and make various sounds.
By making big, bold sounds, you can energetically show just how happy you are right now!
A quiet lakeside
This song was created in 1936 at the YMCA Nojiri Lake campsite, with lyrics by Takihiko Yamakita.
The melody is said to come either from the Swiss German children’s song “Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer” or the American nursery rhyme “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” In addition to being sung normally, it can be enjoyed in various ways, such as as a round.
Because this song is often used with parody lyrics in commercials and the like, many different words may spring to mind just from hearing the melody.
Oklahoma Mixer
The representative folk dance enjoyed as recreation at various events, starting with school sports days, is the “Oklahoma Mixer.” In fact, “Oklahoma Mixer” is not the name of the song but the name of the dance.
The real song title is “Turkey in the Straw,” a popular tune featured in American entertainment shows in the 1800s.
Typically, boys and girls pair up to dance, moving around and repeatedly changing partners in turn.
Dancers hold hands, step together, and turn as they dance.
It’s perfect for helping boys and girls grow closer!