![[For 1-year-olds] Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand Play Collection](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/jjfHHSDMcf0/maxresdefault.webp)
[For 1-year-olds] Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand Play Collection
One-year-olds are starting to move their hands and bodies and show interest in all sorts of things around them.
When you sing to them, they happily clap along to the rhythm and sway their bodies as they enjoy the music.
So this time, we’ll introduce recommended songs and popular hand-play activities for one-year-olds.
We’ve gathered plenty of hand-play songs that one-year-olds can enjoy singing, including songs with fun repeated words and songs that introduce colors and numbers as you sing.
They’ll surely keep asking, “One more time!”
These are perfect for filling small gaps between activities or as a warm-up!
[For 1-year-olds] Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand-Play Activities (1–10)
Apple rolling
This song is a hand-play tune featuring a fun rhythm and onomatopoeia, themed around familiar fruits and vegetables.
With lyrics that include simple actions—like apples rolling “goro-goro”—it lets children move their bodies while singing.
Beloved by many kids in kindergartens and nursery schools, it’s a piece that children of a wide range of ages can enjoy.
It was also published as a picture book in 2020, visually expressing the fun of hand-play.
It’s recommended for bonding time with one-year-olds and as an activity starter.
Singing and playing together with parents or teachers also helps promote communication!
a big drum
“Ookina Taiko” (The Big Drum) is a children’s song you can enjoy while sensing dynamics in sound.
The lyrics were written by Junichi Kobayashi, one of the lyricists who adapted “Jingle Bells” into Japanese, and the music was composed by Yoshinao Nakata, known for children’s songs like “Medaka no Gakkō.” The lyrics describe how striking a big drum makes a loud sound, while striking a small drum makes a soft sound.
When you sing it, match your voice to the lyrics: use a big voice for the big drum parts and a small voice for the small drum parts.
This helps children feel the contrast between big and small, and enjoy those changes.
Don’t forget the drumming gestures—try singing it with the motions, too!
den-den densha
This is a song that everyone can enjoy together while playing train.
Its pop melody and rhythmic lyrics will excite children’s hearts.
It also includes sound effects that mimic trains and bullet trains, making you feel as if you’re really riding one.
Released in October 2018 as a collaboration with JR East’s characters “Tore-tans,” this track sparks children’s imaginations and leads them into a world of fun adventures.
It’s perfect for moving your body and singing along with one-year-olds.
Singing it while playing pretend trains will make it even more enjoyable!
The fish jumps.
This hand-play song features a rhythmic tempo and humorous lyrics about a fish jumping and turning into things like a hat or glasses.
Its playful repetition sparks children’s imaginations.
It’s also available as the picture book “Sakana ga Hanete,” making it a popular resource that can be enjoyed both visually and aurally.
The choreography is simple, so it’s perfect for enjoying together with parents or teachers, and ideal for short transition times or as a warm-up.
It’s also recommended as a hand-play activity for one-year-olds.
You’ll surely hear, “One more time!” again and again.
The Bento Bus
Rhythmic and adorable, this hand-play song depicts bento ingredients hopping onto a bus.
Featuring familiar foods, it’s perfect for singing along with children.
Based on a picture book released in 2006, it later became widely loved as a musical work as well.
It’s great for activities in nurseries and kindergartens, and fun at home too.
This enjoyable hand-play helps kids naturally learn numbers and food names, so why not sing and play together with your one-year-old? You’ll probably hear “One more time!” again and again.
It's starting.
“Hajimaruyo” is perfect for singing before reading a picture book to draw your child’s attention toward you.
It’s a song that feels like a call to say, “Something is about to start,” and in the middle it includes a fingerplay using the numbers 1 through 5.
For example, make a 1 with both hands and put them together to become a ninja, or make a 2 (the V sign) with both hands to become a crab.
At the end, use the number 5 with open hands to guide them into a listening posture.
Even if they don’t fully settle into a listening position, it’s fine as long as the announcement that something is about to begin gets through to your child.
Give it a try!
Let's clap our hands
“Let’s Clap Our Hands” is a song where you can enjoy various movements and expressions that match the lyrics.
Because it includes expressions of feelings like laughing and getting angry, it brings out a wide range of emotions in children.
If the teacher expresses themselves boldly and even a bit theatrically, the children will feel free to join in enthusiastically.
Watching their earnest efforts with such cute expressions is sure to be heartwarming.
Since it involves full-body movement, please move chairs and desks to make enough space.