Hopefully, you got a chance to read up on the 10 Benefits of Songs with Hand Motions that I recently shared. It was meant to do two things. 1) Be an educational experience for anyone who didn’t think there was any point to those somewhat “annoying” kids songs and 2) a helpful reminder that if we focus and put just a little bit of effort into the things we are already doing, we can make a big impact on our children’s development.
And just in case your kiddo doesn’t have a playlist they request on repeat…I wanted to share a list of some of my favorite songs with hand motions to sing and dance to with all the kids in my life. Some of them go wayyyyyy back, so if you haven’t heard of it go check out the video!
My List
1 || Baby Shark – Our House Favorite!
2 || Slippery Fish – A close second… (the video link is to teach you the hand motions; there are a few catchier, more upbeat versions once you know the hand motions!)
3 || If You’re Happy and You Know It – Provides great proprioceptive (deep pressure) feedback and this one does a great job at pairing emotions with each action of the verse to target some emotional awareness and regulation too.
4 || Baby Beluga – Classic Raffi!
5 || Head Shoulder Knees and Toes – Great for identifying body parts and learning rhythm/timing.
6 || Itsy Bitsy Spider – I love the finger coordination required of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
7 || Hokey Pokey – Any ’90s folk that haven’t done this on roller skates?
8 || Where is Thumbkin? – AMAZING for working on finger isolations!!
9 || 5 Green and Speckled Frogs – Good for learning one to one correspondence and counting backwards.
10 || Do Your Ears Hang Low? – There’s been a million versions of this one…choose your favorite!
11 || I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee (If you read my post on the 10 Benefits of Songs with Hand Motions, How could I not add this one to the list?!)
12 || The Wheels on the Bus – The epitome of a fun and simple song with hand motions!
13 || Skinnamarink Dinky Dink – Did you grow up on Sharon, Lois, and Graham??
14 || We Are the Dinosaurs – I learned this one while my son was in his first year of preschool…don’t all boys love dinos?
Hours of fun, engaging skill-building continued…
15 || Listen and Move – Unfortunately, there was not a version demonstrating the moves, but it’s pretty straight forward. Perform each action until the next action is called. I’m all about simple!
16 || Tooty Ta – The kids love the silliness of this one + the fact they get to stick out their tongue!
17 || Shake Your Sillies Out – I love going into the preschools where I work when the kids are shaking, wiggling, clapping, jumping and all the other things they do in this song.
18 || Going on a Bear Hunt – Pretty sure I sing this one in my sleep.
19 || The Skeleton Song (Dem Bones) – Not just a song for Halloween time.
20 || There’s a Wiggle in My Toe – Should I admit I saw the original airing of this song on the Barney show? Who cares…I was a fan of that big, purple dinosaur. (There I said it.)
21 || 5 Little Ducks – I’m certainly glad this song has a happy ending.
22 || Down By the Sea – This song makes me a little sentimental because the preschoolers sing it at their graduation; so when I hear it, it means another successful school year is in the books.
23 || 5 Little Monkeys Swinging from a Tree – It’s fun to delay the “snap that monkey right out of that tree” and watch the kids excitement and anticipation.
24 || Dinosaur Stomp – SO FUN. OR ANYTHING BY KOO KOO KANGA ROO FOR THAT MATTER!!
25 || Little Bunny Foo Foo – I love having kids make their hands into winged glasses (and flipping them upside down if they can) when it says, “Or I’ll turn you into a GOON!”
What are some of your favorite songs with hand motions?!
Perhaps you love all these songs already but you may not know some of the awesome Benefits of Songs with Hand Motions. Head over to read about them here.
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