Recommended children's songs and hand play songs for October! Music time in childcare that feels like autumn.

Mountain Musicians

Mountain Musicians

Yama no Ongakuka (The Musicians of the Mountain) sets Japanese lyrics to the German folk song “Ich bin ein Musikante.” There are two well-known versions of the Japanese lyrics, but the one broadcast on NHK’s music program Minna no Uta may be more familiar to children.

Beloved animals play music in the mountains, and it looks so fun that kids who can play instruments will want to join in.

Voices of Insects

Insect Voices [One Hundred Japanese Songs] by Himawari 🌻 With Lyrics

This song, which was reportedly written as “Mushi no Koe” at the time of its release, was first included in the 1912 Jinjo Shogaku Tokuhon Shoka (Elementary School Reader Songs).

You can feel its long history.

It’s a very memorable piece that represents autumn in Japan.

In 2007, it was selected for the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” It’s a unique song that features one insect sound after another, and it’s easy to understand—almost like a science field guide.

It’s not only fun to sing, but also to add hand motions, so try singing it with your child while using gestures.

Seven-year-old child

Children’s song: Nanatsu no Ko (Seven-Year-Old)

Even if people know this song, it seems many don’t know the full chorus.

Thinking that even crows—who have a mischievous image—have cute chicks and work hard to raise them makes me feel a sense of closeness.

When I hear crows cawing, I feel the end of the day—and the end of autumn.

Shopping at the bakery

[Hand Play] Going Shopping at the Bakery ♪ (Maatan)

Here’s a fun hand-play song for autumn: “Buying Bread at the Bakery”! In this game, players split into customers who buy bread and shopkeepers who sell it.

The customers shop while naming the breads they want.

Can the shopkeepers sell all the requested breads without making a mistake? It’s a hand-play song that kids love—give it a try!

Mysterious Pocket

♪A Mysterious Pocket [with gestures]

A dreamy song where biscuits keep multiplying just by patting your pocket.

At first there should have been only one biscuit inside, but every time you pat your pocket, they increase more and more.

Surely some kids have admired that magical situation and tried to imitate it, right? But in reality, if you try it, the biscuits just crumble to pieces, and you end up getting scolded by your mom afterward.

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maple leaves

~Autumn Leaves (Momiji)~ NHK Tokyo Children's Choir Part I

The Japanese children’s song Mōmiji, with lyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano and music by Teiichi Okano, was included in the 1911 edition of Elementary School Songs for the second grade.

When we sing it as children, the meaning of the lyrics may not sink in very much.

But listening to it again as adults, both the melody and the words are truly beautiful.

It’s one of the nursery and school songs we’d love to see passed down from childhood.

The Takano–Okano duo also left many other masterpieces, such as Furusato and Haru ga Kita.

bright red maple leaves

With cheerful lyrics♪ 'Bright Red Maple Leaves' [Nursery hand-play song, children's song, music play]

Speaking of autumn, there are lots of fallen leaves like maple leaves, and they’re often used for crafts.

The hand-play song “Makkana Momiji,” brimming with seasonal feeling, is a children’s song you can enjoy not only by singing, but also with hand motions—and even by holding real maple leaves and having fun.

Even if you don’t use real fallen leaves, letting paper maple leaves you made yourselves fall from the sky and catching them will surely make it even more enjoyable.

With a hand-play that captures the atmosphere of autumn, plus an active game using leaves, it seems like kids can have twice the fun.