A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.
With the refreshing autumn breeze comes a cool season filled with children’s smiles.
During such delightful autumn days, why not incorporate songs and fingerplay that are perfect for the season into life with the children? In fact, there are many children’s songs for September that gently depict autumn scenes, such as ginkgo leaves, chestnuts, and moon-viewing.
Here, we will introduce a wide range of songs that will be useful in September childcare—from pieces that express autumn landscapes like moon-viewing and autumn foliage to fingerplay songs.
Be sure to find songs that let you enjoy the season together with the children while experiencing the ambiance of autumn.
- [Children’s Songs of Autumn] Autumn songs, school songs, and traditional children’s rhymes. A collection of classic pieces to sing in autumn.
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- Song of the Maple Leaves. An autumn children’s song/nursery rhyme/folk song
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- A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.
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- [Autumn Songs] Songs of autumn. Classic tracks and popular favorites you’ll want to listen to in the fall.
- Recommended Autumn Songs for People in Their 80s: A Collection of Seasonal Kayōkyoku and Children's Songs
- Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about insects
A Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes & Fingerplay Songs for September! Enjoy Autumn with Your Kids Through Songs (11–20)
A Bug’s MurmurOginome Yōko
A work by Yoko Oginome that sings from the feelings of insects, carried by a charming ukulele sound.
The lyrics, told from the perspectives of various bugs like mantises and spiders, tickle children’s curiosity.
Released in August 2020 and featured on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” this warm song is filled with Oginome’s experiences as a mother and her love of nature.
In the autumn season when bug-hunting is especially fun, why not sing it together with friends at nursery school or kindergarten to deepen understanding of these little creatures?
Here you go, sweet potato!Sakushi: Mine Katsumasa / Sakkyoku: Okada Rikio
The play song “Horehore Satsuma-imo,” 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 in the fall, so it’s also recommended to sing this song before the event to build excitement! Kids will probably pick it up quickly and have fun playing along with this song.
Mushi-Mushi FestivalSakushi Sakkyoku: Kashiwa Tetsu
A delightful children’s song by Tetsu Kashiwa with the theme of a festival where autumn insects gather to have fun.
Various bugs like praying mantises and stag beetles make appearances, and their unique traits and movements are expressed vividly.
Broadcast as the Monthly Song on NHK E-TV’s “Okaasan to Issho” in June 2023, this piece became popular with kids.
It’s crafted so that not only children who love insects but also those who are less fond of them can enjoy it.
If you sing and dance when you spot bugs, you might naturally feel closer to nature.
It’s a perfect song for autumn nature observation or insect-hunting walks.
sports daySakushi sakkyoku: Noritake Akihiko
The song written and composed by Akihiko Noritake wonderfully captures the excitement of a sports day.
The lyrics include events like the ball toss and footraces that children can enjoy, conveying how they work hard while cooperating with friends.
With its bright, light melody that makes you want to hum along, the song is widely used at kindergarten and nursery school sports days, becoming a special piece that lets children feel growth and a sense of achievement.
Through the autumn event of the sports day, it may also help you feel the changing of the seasons.
Let’s draw a picture in the blue sky.Sakushi: Kazumi Kazuki / Sakkyoku: Hajime Kamishiba
This piece is cherished as a song that nurtures children’s dreams and sense of adventure.
It depicts a large ship drawn against the blue sky and sings of setting off on a new journey aboard that ship.
The repeated, spirited calls express children’s energy and anticipation, adding a lively vibe to the song.
Also used as an insert song on NHK Educational TV’s “One-Two-Don,” it is often sung at sports days and at nursery school and kindergarten events.
It’s a recommended song for times when you want to convey the importance of having dreams and hopes, or when you want to enjoy singing together with children.
Mochi pounding on the night of the full harvest moon
A full, round moon shines beautifully on the night of the mid-autumn festival.
This is a song for making moon-viewing dumplings to go with it.
It’s a hand-clapping game for pairs, so try it with a friend or with your mom or dad! One person spreads their hands up and down and claps like pounding rice cakes with a mallet: pon, pon.
The other person kneads and pinches the mochi, making sure not to get hit by the “mallet” hands.
In the second half the movements get faster and trickier, so be extra careful not to bump into the mallet hands! It’s harder than you’d think!
Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes & Fingerplay Songs for September! Enjoy Autumn with Your Kids Through Songs (21–30)
moon; monthMonbushō shōka
The famous children’s song “Tsuki” (Moon), still sung today in childcare settings and at moon-viewing events, is a Ministry of Education school song that appeared in the 1911 publication “Elementary School Songs.” It describes gazing at the moon and the way it slips behind clouds and reappears, making it a perfect piece for tsukimi (moon viewing).
If you’re planning a moon-viewing gathering in September, why not sing this song together? It’s a very short, slow tune, so even children can easily learn and sing it.