A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.

Red sky at dusk

[Children’s Song] Yuyake Koyake (covered by UtaSuta) ♫ As the sunset glows, the sun sets, the bell at the mountain temple rings [Song Kids’ Song] Japanese Children’s Song

This is a children’s song born in the Taisho era.

Many towns broadcast this tune around 5 or 6 p.

m.

instead of a time signal, so it’s probably familiar to many people.

You can do hand games with this song, like “Alps Ichiman-jaku” or “Otera no Oshō-san.” The method is almost the same, so try it with your child.

Once you get used to it, it’s fun to pick up the tempo.

Voices of InsectsMonbushō Shōka (Ministry of Education Songs)

The Voices of Insects (Children’s Song) | Enjoy with an animation of insects performing

From around September, when the hot summer with cicadas comes to an end, you begin to hear the sounds of autumn insects.

The song “Mushi no Koe” captures this scene.

In it, autumn insects like the pine cricket (matsumushi) and bell cricket (suzumushi) appear, with their calls expressed in the lyrics.

Their voices are different from cicadas’, and they convey the arrival of a tranquil season.

Once you get a sense of how they sound, try listening carefully in the early evening to nighttime in autumn.

You’ll surely hear calls much like those in the song!

Konkon fox

Knock-Knock Fox | Hand-Play Video Channel “ASOBE”

Make a fox by putting your index finger and little finger to your ear and shaping a mouth with the remaining fingers! It’s a very simple fox you make with your hands—surely you’ve made it before! Make a fox with each hand, and at first have them appear one at a time.

Each fox goes to call the other, and in the end the two are together.

Once they’re together, that’s the beginning of the story! This is a song you sing as preparation before starting a story.

When you place your fox-shaped hands on your lap, let’s listen quietly to the fun story!

Where is this mushroom?

[NHK] Dokonoko no Kinoko / Okaasan to Issho (Covered by UtaSta) [Children’s Songs, Nursery Rhymes, Hand Play] Japanese Children’s Song, Nursery Rhymes

“Doko no Kono Kinoko,” with lyrics by Morichiyoko and music by Zahatorte, is a song that became popular among children after being featured on NHK’s early childhood program “Okaasan to Issho.” Despite its surreal vibe, it’s an exciting song that sparks the imagination, with mushrooms flying through the sky, falling into the sea, and going on adventures.

Autumn is mushroom season, so it might be fun to dance while singing this tune.

Even kids who don’t like mushrooms are sure to enjoy this song!

The Bento Box Song

[Hand Play Song] The Bento Box Song [With Choreography]

With the pleasant autumn weather that’s neither too hot nor too cold, there are more chances to go on field trips and picnics with a packed lunch! “Obentou-bako no Uta” is perfect for times like these.

Let’s try making the foods you’d pack in a bento using hand motions.

For items like carrots and cherries, you add them in while counting, like a counting song.

You can also use your hands and arms to show the holes in lotus root and the strings in butterbur! Now the bento is complete! Actually, this song has not only an onigiri version, but also a sandwich version!

shoulder tap

Hand play for Respect-for-the-Aged Day: “Shoulder Tapping” with lyrics

Respect for the Aged Day falls on the third Monday of September every year.

It’s a day to honor and celebrate the long lives of the elderly who have contributed to society for many years.

How about giving Grandpa and Grandma a shoulder massage to this song on such a day? Doing it while singing along to the rhythm makes it fun! Try gently patting their shoulders with a light tap-tap, putting your everyday gratitude into it.

If their grandchild does it for them, Grandpa and Grandma might even be moved to tears.

Mountain Musicians

Mountain Musicians [Uta no Mama Papa] Nursery Rhyme: Yama no Ongakuka - With Mother and Father

Autumn is often called the “season of the arts,” isn’t it? Perfect for September, when that season arrives, is The Musicians of the Mountain.

It depicts little squirrels, rabbits, and other animals living in the mountains playing various instruments.

Each one shows off the instrument they’re best at, and in the end they all perform together.

If you sing while pretending to play the instruments like the animals do, it becomes even more fun! It might also be interesting to actually try playing an instrument yourself.

Enjoy an autumn of the arts filled with music.