Nursery rhymes to sing in spring: a collection of classic songs you'll want to sing with your children

When spring comesFukuda Sho

[Spring・Creatures・Flowers] When Spring Comes / Sho Fukuda [Play song/Nursery care/Kindergarten/Parenting/Children’s song/March/April/Expressive play/Singing games/Infants/Toddlers]

This is a delightful children’s song that invites kids to move their bodies as if they’ve become the flowers and creatures discovered in spring, all under the warm sunshine.

Centered on the theme of springtime nature, it’s widely loved in early childhood settings as an expressive play activity where children enjoy gestures that match the lyrics.

Released in May 2017 and included in the CD book “Chotto Dake Taisou ~Hoick CD Book~,” the piece was created by Sho Fukuda, a former nursery teacher and children’s song writer.

Its major appeal lies in not only following set movements, but also incorporating children’s ideas—changing the lyrics or choosing poses freely.

It’s perfect for introducing a class activity to explore spring together, or for parents and children to play before a walk—an ideal song for savoring the arrival of spring with the whole body while expanding the imagination.

Mysterious PocketSakushi: Mado Michio / Sakkyoku: Watanabe Shigeru

Mysterious Pocket by Himawari 🌻 With Lyrics | Nursery Rhyme | Magic Pocket

A children’s song that sings of kids’ innocent wish: with every pat on their pocket, the treats keep multiplying.

Written by Michio Mado and composed by Shigeru Watanabe, this historic piece was first published in a magazine in September 1954.

The way the number increases with each pat makes you look forward to snack time on a field trip even more, doesn’t it? It has been widely loved, including a cover on idol group CoCo’s August 1993 release “Modern Doyō” and inclusion on a project album for the anime “Cheeky Fairy Mirmo!” Why not sing it with hand motions during a field trip or picnic as you feel the refreshing May breeze? If you prepare some biscuits and sing, the children’s smiles are sure to multiply too!

All set and ready to go!nagata maya/hanada yuuichirou

Junbi Bantantan — Live-action Dance — With Mother — May 2023 Monthly Song / E Tele — NHK

In dazzlingly fresh May, many children are still getting used to their new daily rhythms.

This song will make getting ready in the morning and winding down before bed so much more fun! To lively, “all set!” cues, Yuichiro Hanada and Maya Nagata sing brightly.

Clap your hands or stomp your feet to the rhythmic beat, and even the hassle of getting dressed turns into play.

Originally aired on NHK Educational TV’s “Okaasan to Issho” as the Monthly Song for May 2023, this track is included on the album “Okaasan to Issho Latest Best: Junbi Bantantan!” released in October of the same year.

With this song cheering on your everyday “getting ready,” parents and kids are sure to prep with smiles! Be sure to sing it before you head out!

Close It, Open Itsakushisha fushou

♪Musunde Hiraite – Musunde Hiraite | ♪Clasp Your Hands, Open Them, Clap Your Hands, Clasp Them [Japanese Song / Children's Song]

In dazzlingly fresh May greenery, don’t you feel like getting active and playing with the kids? That’s when the perfect choice is that familiar hand-play song with the motions of opening and closing your hands.

Simple yet irresistibly engaging for children, its melody is actually said to have its roots in an opera by the French thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

In Japan, it became widely loved in its current form as a play song after being included in the May 1947 elementary school textbook First-Grade Music.

Its easy-to-remember rhythm and movements are also great for interacting with very young children who can’t speak yet.

How about trying it outdoors on a picnic, sitting face-to-face and playing together as parent and child?

A bamboo shoot has sprouted.warabeuta asobi

May’s nursery rhyme “Takenoko Medashita”

A children’s hand-play song that vividly expresses the growth of bamboo shoots, which are in season from spring to early summer.

Through hand motions, kids enjoy the story of a sprout emerging from the soil, a flower blooming with a pop, and finally being snipped with scissors.

Because the rock-paper-scissors hand shapes—fist, scissors, and open hand—are naturally built into the actions, it’s also perfect for helping children learn the rules of the game.

Though it’s a traditional folk song passed down through generations, its introduction on children’s programs like those on NHK has helped it become a familiar group activity in preschools and kindergartens.

It typically ends with everyone chanting “Essa, essa!” together and deciding the winner with rock-paper-scissors.

On a fresh May day under the blue sky, get moving energetically with your family and friends!

skylark skylarkwarabeuta asobi

Spring nursery rhyme [Hibari Hibari] Parent-child play [Childcare]

In the pleasantly breezy month of May, here’s a nursery rhyme game with a springtime bird theme that we hope parents and children will enjoy at a relaxed pace.

It’s characterized by short, repeated phrases that call to the birds and depict traveling over mountains and through valleys.

You can rock your child on your lap, use your fingertips to represent hills and valleys—there’s no single right way to play! Though it’s a traditional song passed down in local communities since long ago, new audio recordings with fresh ways of singing were released as recently as March 2021, and it continues to be loved today in various forms, especially in early childhood settings.

Precisely because there’s no fixed answer, you can tailor it to your child’s age and the atmosphere of the moment—that’s the charm of this piece.

On a warm, sunny day, why not find your own original way to play together with your child?

Blow, O wind, blowSakushi: Yamamoto Morihisa / Sakkyoku: Komori Akihiro

Kaze yo Fuke Fuke (Okaasan to Issho) / Daisuke Yokoyama & Takumi Mitani

A song brimming with the kind of energy that makes you want to dash outside barefoot in this season of refreshing breezes.

Lyrics by Morihisa Yamamoto and music by Akihiro Komori, it’s especially memorable for its rhythmic repeated phrases.

Its bright, forward-looking message makes you feel lighter, as if the wind could blow away all your troubles.

First broadcast in 1975 on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” the song has continued to be sung for many years on programs like NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho.” You can listen to it on albums such as “Zoku NHK Minna no Uta yori: Meikyoku 100 Uta – <1969–1977> Omoide no Uta-tachi.” On a clear May day, try singing it together with your child while taking a walk under the blue sky.