[Childcare] Recommended songs and nursery rhymes for November: Fun autumn fingerplay songs
November is late autumn—the season of falling leaves—and a time when we start to feel winter approaching.
This time, we’ve gathered children’s songs and fingerplay songs with a November theme.
From pieces that evoke autumn scenery to songs that hint at the coming of winter, we’ll introduce plenty of sing-and-play fingerplay tunes!
They’re perfect for play at home, daycare, or kindergarten, so be sure to give them a try.
We’ve provided movement examples, but it’s also fun to arrange them in your own style!
Before the real cold sets in, let’s all sing and play together on these autumn days!
- [Children’s Songs of Autumn] Autumn songs, school songs, and traditional children’s rhymes. A collection of classic pieces to sing in autumn.
- Recommended children's songs and hand play songs for October! Music time in childcare that feels like autumn.
- Song of the Maple Leaves. An autumn children’s song/nursery rhyme/folk song
- December children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes: fun winter hand-play songs
- Songs for January: Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs we want children to grow familiar with
- A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.
- Collection of winter nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs. Includes fun winter hand-play songs too.
- [Snow Songs for Winter] Children's Snow Nursery Rhymes and Hand-Play Songs
- Autumn anime songs: iconic tracks for the deepening fall
- [For 0-year-olds] Recommended songs for babies: A special feature on bonding play and traditional nursery rhymes
- Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about insects
- Children’s songs and nursery rhymes about the moon
- Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about food
[Childcare] Recommended songs and nursery rhymes for November: Fun autumn finger-play songs (21–30)
larchLyrics by Akira Nogami / Music by Hideo Kobayashi
The characters for “落葉松” are read as “karamatsu.” Unlike other pines, the karamatsu (Japanese larch) is distinctive in that it sheds its needles in autumn.
This song depicts the autumn scenery of Karuizawa, and its lyricist, Akira Nogami, also wrote a novel titled “Karuizawa Monogatari” (The Karuizawa Story).
It’s well known as a choral piece, too.
Sticky-bug bug
“Hittsuki Mushi-Mushi” is a play song where you stick to something that matches the color mentioned in the lyrics.
Like the game “Color Tag,” kids love this kind of play! If you’re playing outside in November, choosing colors like red, brown, yellow, and black to match the seasonal scenery makes the game easier and adds a sense of the season—highly recommended.
Of course, it’s fun indoors too, so give it a try!
[Childcare] Recommended songs and nursery rhymes for November: Fun autumn finger-play songs (31–40)
Potato Digging Song
Perfect for the autumn season, this song is a children’s tune about the fun of digging sweet potatoes.
Set to a bright and cheerful melody, it depicts children experiencing potato digging.
The call-and-response chant “Untokosho, dokkoisho” is memorable and really livens things up when everyone sings together! It’s often sung at autumn events and harvest festivals, and its simple, easy-to-remember lyrics make it enjoyable even for very young children.
Singing it before a potato-digging outing is a fun way for everyone to share the excitement.
Sweet Potato Song
Autumn is often called the season of hearty appetites, and many foods are delicious then—but when it comes to kids’ favorite fall foods, sweet potatoes are at the top of the list! You probably have lots of chances to go sweet potato digging or enjoy roasted sweet potatoes at home or at kindergarten.
That’s when you’ll want to sing the “Sweet Potato Song” together with the children.
Its lyrics are all about sweet potatoes and it has a cheerful feel that kids are sure to love.
In particular, the opening part that mimics the sound of a little toot will really get the kids excited when you sing it together!
ramen
Ramen, a food loved all across Japan by adults and children alike.
Many of you probably make it at home, too.
So why not enjoy a children’s song with a ramen theme? The lyrics are very simple and easy to remember, and the gestures are simple as well.
You can even make your own parody version to suit your tastes.
Singing and playing might make you crave ramen, so watch out if you’re on a diet! But if it’ll make your kids happy, you might as well cook some!
Here you go, sweet potato!Lyrics by Katsumasa Mine / Music by Rikio Okada
The play song “Hore Hore Satsumaimo,” 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 events in the fall, so children will probably pick up this song quickly and have fun with it.
The days are cold, but if you move your body energetically, you’ll warm up in no time!
Meat buns and sweet bean paste buns
A hand-clapping song themed around nikuman and anman, classics of the cold season.
Like the widely used standard hand game song “Gu Choki Paa de Nani Tsukurou,” it is based on the French folk song “Frère Jacques,” making it easy and familiar for both children and nursery teachers to learn.
Because you shape various foods in time with the song, it’s more accessible for younger children compared to “Gu Choki Paa de Nani Tsukurou,” which requires you to come up with ideas yourself.
It’s a simple hand-clapping song that’s perfect for chilly November.