[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 (31–40)
A squirrel is digging a hole.
Acorns are one of autumn’s seasonal words.
How about trying “Risu wa Anahori” with that theme? The song features lyrics by Izumiichi Hanafusa and music by Masao Tomioka.
It portrays a squirrel digging a hole and hiding acorns inside.
Because the same phrases are repeated, it’s easy to get familiar with.
Another fun point is the comical choreography that imitates a squirrel’s movements.
Try becoming a squirrel yourself and have fun with it!
peach, apple, pear, pineapple
A hand game song that uses fruits loved by children lets them learn while having fun.
In this song, kids move their bodies to a rhythmic tune themed around autumn harvests like peaches and apples.
The lyrics are simple, but the way you pretend to have eaten the fruits and gradually leave them out makes it a playful activity that helps build children’s memory and concentration.
Often used in nurseries and kindergartens, this hand game is perfect for children around ages 3 to 5.
Why not include it in autumn events or daily childcare and have everyone sing and play together? It’s a lovely song that helps kids learn fruit names while also feeling the change of seasons!
Shichi-Go-San SongLyrics by Toyoji Ariji / Music by Nahoko Shimizu
It’s a children’s song themed around Shichi-Go-San.
Unlike “Tōryanse,” which has the same theme, it isn’t scary.
It’s a song that celebrates children’s growth, with lyrics brimming with hope for the future.
A distinctive feature of the second verse is that it portrays the grandchild from the grandfather’s perspective.
cricketLyrics by Eiichi Sekine / Music by Yasushi Akutagawa
In autumn, you can hear the beautiful sounds of autumn insects from outside.
With their various calls like “chirori-chirori” and “korokoro,” these insects make us feel the arrival of fall.
Among them, crickets are especially familiar; many children may have even held one and observed it up close.
This song is about those familiar crickets—a beautiful piece with a calm mood that’s perfect for an autumn night.
When you hear the voices of the autumn insects, try singing along!
Mr. Raccoon Dog of Genkotsu MountainLyrics by: Yoshiko Kayama / Music by: Akihiro Komori
Everyone knows “Genkotsu-yama no Tanukisan,” a classic hand-play song.
Around 1970, after it was sung on NHK’s children’s program “Okaasan to Issho,” it became popular all across Japan.
With its cute raccoon-dog theme, it’s a big hit with kids.
The motions of stacking your clenched fists and the lively choreography that matches the lyrics are also lots of fun.
If you’re teaching it to little children, have mom or dad guide their hands and help them with the movements first.
[Childcare] Recommended Songs and Nursery Rhymes for November: Fun Autumn Finger-Play Songs (41–50)
Tanuki-bayashi of Shojoji (The Raccoon Dogs’ Festival Drumming at Shojoji Temple)Lyrics by Ujō Noguchi / Music by Shinpei Nakayama
Temples somehow give off an image of beautiful autumn leaves, don’t they? Here’s the nursery rhyme “Shojoji no Tanukibayashi,” perfect for November.
Just as the title suggests, the lyrics featuring tanuki (raccoon dogs) are wonderfully lively.
You can just picture lots of tanuki gathering and playing together.
You can try various gestures to match the lyrics—beckoning with your hands, patting your belly, and more.
By all means, get into character as a tanuki and have adults and children play together.
Mr. Crab, Mr. CrabLyrics by: Sakura Shichinin / Music by: Seiichi Sakurada
Crabs are often seen as a feast that brightens winter dining tables, but their peak season actually starts in November! So how about singing this crab-themed song together with the children? This piece was featured on “Minna no Uta,” and it tells the story of a horsehair crab-loving helmet crab.
The helmet crab in the lyrics goes through some tough, worldly experiences, but its determined, upbeat attitude—“Don’t give up, keep trying!!”—is inspiring and teaches children the importance of facing forward and doing their best.