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

Chubby Potato-chan and Tiny Potato-chan

Debu-imo-chan and Chibi-imo-chan — Songs and nursery rhymes to enjoy in September and October — #play #childcare #nurseryteacher #children #athomeplay #musicalplay #singinggames #introduction #nurseryrhymes #sportsday #September #infants #toddlers #piano

“Debu-imo-chan Chibi-imo-chan” with lyrics by Mado Michio and music by Akira Yuyama.

It’s a song about a slightly plump potato and a small potato.

It depicts what the potatoes were doing underground and helps expand children’s imaginations.

If you ask at the end of the song, “If everyone were potatoes, what would you do underground?” you’re likely to get some delightful answers.

gluttonous gorilla

[Hand Play] The Hungry Gorilla — Recommended for Kindergartens, Nurseries, and Practicums!

This song is a hand-play tune popular at nursery schools and kindergartens, featuring a gluttonous gorilla who keeps eating different foods one after another.

Because it also lets you express how the food is eaten and what it tastes like, it’s great as a teaching tool for young children.

At the end, there’s a punchline where an onion appears—but it’s all peel, so you can’t eat it.

You can incorporate any edible item into the lyrics and keep adding your own original verses, so it’s a good idea to include the child’s favorite foods.

World of Stars

World of Stars (Three-Part Mixed Choir)

Perhaps because it was originally a hymn, it carries a slightly formal and distant air, but the lyrics are full of beautiful words, making it a song I would love children to sing.

It’s also lovely to gaze at the starry sky on an autumn night and let your thoughts wander to the mystery and vastness of the universe.

The lyrics of Hymn No.

312 are also sung in churches and other places.

Child of Autumn

Autumn Child / Song: Ayaka Nageno

Here is a song with lyrics by Hachirō Satō, known for works like “I Found a Little Autumn” and “Happy Hinamatsuri.” The music was composed by Yasuo Suehiro, who is also known as the director of an aquarium.

You can feel Satō’s warm, affectionate perspective toward children in the lyrics.

It may be less well-known among children’s songs, but it’s a lovely piece—please try singing it together with your child.

It’s a charming song filled with the spirit of Japan’s good old days.

Acorns and a Little Squirrel

[Fingerplay Song] Acorns and the Little Squirrel

Donguri to Korisu is also a counting song, making it an especially recommended tune for children at the age where they want to learn numbers.

As the acorns flee from the chasing squirrel, they increase one by one—one, two—and the song counts up to ten.

Even if a child doesn’t yet grasp the concept of numbers, they can have fun singing and naturally learn the numbers and their order.

Before long, they’ll likely want to count all sorts of things on their own! Even setting aside the numbers, it’s a charming song about a squirrel and acorns, so try singing it in different ways to suit everyone from infants to older kindergarteners.

rabbit

Song Shōka: “Rabbit” by Manami Fukuizono and others { Mimi-chan Records }

Autumn is the season for moon viewing.

Many nursery schools and kindergartens probably enjoy making crafts with motifs like the moon, rabbits, and moon-viewing dumplings.

“Usagi” is a traditional Japanese children’s song that lets you savor the atmosphere of moon viewing through singing.

The song does not depict a rabbit on the moon, but rather a rabbit gazing at the moon.

By sharing episodes related to moon viewing and singing together with friends, or doing hand-play while singing, children can feel the customs of autumn more closely.

Little Sumo Bear

[Children’s Song] Little Sumo Bear

This is “Sumo Bear,” where you wrestle with a little bear.

The song includes actual calls used in sumo matches, so it’s perfect for listening while you practice sumo with your friends! Speaking of wrestling with a bear, that brings to mind Kintaro—a boy so strong he could beat a bear in sumo, yet kindhearted.

May you grow to be strong and gentle like Kintaro.