[Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.
Kids love to sing!
Singing is a form of exercise, nurtures interest in language, and helps develop expressiveness and a sense of rhythm.
It’s also said that singing releases “happy hormones,” making it effective for relieving stress.
Bring plenty of music into daily life and sing freely together with your children.
This time, we’re introducing popular children’s songs we’d love you to sing and play with your kids!
We’ve collected everything from classic nursery rhymes passed down through the years to the latest hit songs.
You can search songs by category—animals, vehicles, food, and more—so you’re sure to find the perfect tune for your children.
If you add simple choreography or hand-play motions as well as singing, the kids will be thrilled!
Be sure to explore a variety of nursery rhymes and enjoy happy times with your children!
- [Childcare] Fun Songs for 2-Year-Olds to Sing! Recommended Song Collection
- [Preschool] Recommended choral pieces for 3-year-olds
- Choral songs that captivate 4-year-olds! A collection of heartfelt song ideas for junior kindergarten recitals
- Nursery rhymes to sing to your baby! Recommended songs enjoyable from 0 months
- [For 1-year-olds] Fun Together! Recommended Songs and Hand Play Collection
- Get pumped with popular songs from “Okaasan to Issho”! A collection of timeless tunes everyone will want to sing together
- Nursery Rhyme Popular Song Rankings [2025]
- [For 4-year-olds] Popular and classic songs to sing at recitals and seasonal events
- Sing and dance along to popular songs! Recommended hits from kids’ TV shows.
- [Minna no Uta] Tear-jerking masterpiece. A moving song you want to hear again.
- Children’s songs of the world: songs passed down and sung by children overseas
- I want to sing it at the senior class recital! A choral piece that 5-year-olds can sing with all their heart
- Lullabies: children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Nostalgic songs for putting children to sleep.
Summer Songs (11–20)
ice cream
Ice cream that both kids and adults love! It tastes especially good in the hot summer, doesn’t it? Here’s a hand-play activity themed around ice cream.
In this activity, the song includes hand motions like mixing ingredients such as milk and eggs and cooling them, so children can enjoy it as if they’re playing make-believe, which nurtures their imagination.
It’s perfect for food education, too.
We also recommend expanding the play by making different flavors based on the children’s requests—like strawberry, chocolate, grape, or melon! Give it a try and make some delicious ice cream together!
Let's go to the forest.
When you want to feel like you’re in a forest, the perfect song is “Let’s Go to the Forest.” This warm, heartfelt song lets you feel the joy of playing in nature and the gentle comfort of the woods.
If you sing it while picturing the green trees, chirping birds, and the pleasant breeze, both the singer and the listeners will feel as if they’re actually in the forest.
The key is to sing each word clearly and brightly.
It’s a song full of charm that naturally brings joy—sing it with excitement, letting your body bounce to the rhythm, and you’ll find yourself having fun.
A quiet lakeside
“Shizukana Kohan” (Quiet Lakeside) is a German folk song to which Keizo Horiuchi added Japanese lyrics.
Its gentle tempo and catchy, memorable melody make it popular with children, who sing it cheerfully and with enthusiasm.
Because it’s a beloved song, many people of all ages know it, which is another reason it’s so enjoyable.
Forming a circle and holding hands while singing with the children can create a sense of unity and make it even more fun.
Since it’s a bright, lively tune, it’s also recommended for summer events.
Summer Songs (21–30)
wind chime
Hearing the sound of wind chimes in the hot summer gives you a sense of elegance, doesn’t it? With its relaxed tempo and gentle lyrics, “Wind Chimes” is a pleasant children’s song that evokes the feeling of summer.
It’s also great to sing while holding a baby for a nap or when they start to cry.
Showing what an actual wind chime looks like can make it easier to imagine the lyrics, too.
Try singing this wind chime song with children to make the summer heat feel cooler.
It might even become a song that reminds you of your summer memories.
Hey! SeaLyrics by Keisuke Yamakawa / Music by Naosumi Yamamoto
When you think of summer, many of you probably picture the blue ocean.
In times like that, we recommend this song, “Hey! Ocean,” which lets you feel the sea’s vastness and beauty, as well as the gentleness and power of nature.
The lyrics are charming, as if you’re really speaking to the ocean, making it perfect to sing with energetic children full of summer spirit.
Move your body to the bright, free-flowing melody and rhythm, and you’ll likely feel your spirits lift! Try singing from your diaphragm, imagining your voice carrying far into the distance.
Songs of Autumn (21–30)
An autumn children's song that makes walks more fun!
Autumn’s slight chill somehow evokes a touch of loneliness, yet it’s also a season filled with the beauty of colored leaves and the sounds of insects. We’ve gathered songs perfect for autumn walks where children can have fun picking up fallen leaves and acorns, as well as tunes everyone wants to listen to when autumn arrives! Reference article:[Children’s Songs of Autumn] Autumn songs, school songs, and traditional children’s rhymes. A collection of classic pieces to sing in autumn.
Autumn Songs (1–10)
rabbitNEW!
Many children have probably heard the story that on the night of the harvest moon, there’s a little rabbit pounding rice cakes up on the moon.
This folk song depicts the shining moon in the sky and a rabbit hopping as it gazes at it.
Said to have been sung since the Edo period, this work features a melody imbued with uniquely Japanese sentiment, and its lyrics were shaped into their current form from a 1941 school textbook.
Just as people rejoice at the beautiful full moon, the rabbit, too, must be brimming with happiness.
It’s also lovely to listen while gazing at the autumn night sky, with a plate of dumplings set out beside you.
mushroomLyrics by Michio Mado / Music by Shoji Kurakake
Mushrooms are an essential taste of autumn.
This song describes mushrooms growing hard and strong while receiving blessings from the heavens.
We tend to forget about them because they don’t move, but in fact mushrooms grow just like we do! Listening to this song helps you see mushrooms as living beings, so even kids who don’t like the taste might grow fond of them.
It’s also great as a play song for nursery schools and kindergartens.
Children aged 1–2 dancing in mushroom costumes would be absolutely adorable.