Music is a great way to help kids develop language, motor, and memory skills. Here are eight silly preschool songs that kids aresure to enjoy, and that will make you giggle rightalong with them.
We love music at our house. My boys may think I’m crazy when I’m rocking out to Disney songs or randomly burst into song while folding laundry, but they love a good song as much as I do. Little Man actually has a funny little tradition at bedtime of asking me to make up songs about the books we read. A lot of them are pretty lame, but he loves it.
Besides just being fun, music is a great way to teach kids, especially kids who struggle with language delays. The rhythm of the music and the repetition of the same words over and over again help kids build vocabulary and give them the confidence to try sounds they might be uncomfortable attempting in normal speech. And all kids can benefit from the memory and motor skills they develop while singing and doing fingerplays. Read more research on that here.
Little kids (or at least my little boys) think anything gross or destructive is super funny, so their favorite songs involve weird foods, crashing, burping, and the like.
Here are some of my preschooler’s favorite songs. Enjoy!
8 Silly Preschool Songs Your Child Will Love
1. Do You Like Broccoli Ice Cream?
This silly song asks kids to think about what would happen if they combined some of their favorite (and not so favorite) foods. Do you like pizza? Do you like popcorn? What about popcorn pizza? Eww! We love making up our own food combinations, too, so it’s great for stretching kid’s brains as they try to see who can be the most outlandish and disgusting (again…boys). It’s one of approximately a bazillion videos made by Super Simple Songs. My boys love watching these on You Tube.
2. Slippery Fish
If you don’t know this one, you MUST learn it. I was trying to keep my boys awake in the car the other day and so I started singing this with them because I know it’s one of their favorites. They were CRACKING up in the back seat and asked for it again, and again, and again. I think it’s pretty cute, too. You can watch the video above with them, and if you want to learn some hand motions to go along with the song, watch this video (or just make up your own…ours are a little different than the ones from Miss Nina in the video).
3. Hickory Dickory CRASH!
This is a fun variation on the traditional song Hickory Dickory Dock. In this version, lots of different kinds of animals take turns going up the clock until the elephant comes along and smashes the clock to pieces. Little Man loves to act this one out by building a “clock tower” out of blocks and then having his toy animals go up the “clock” as I sing. of course, his favorite part is knocking the whole thing down when it’s the elephant’s turn. It’s a great song for learning because kids can practice counting as the clock chimes, and it develops vocabulary as you identify different animals.
4. If All the Raindrops
Okay, the only music video I could find for this next song features Barney. Don’t hate me! And don’t skip this song just because the thought of that purple dinosaur makes you cringe. I learned the song from my sister, and it’s so fun! If I could spare you Barney and just have her teach you, I would, but it really is a super cute song about what would happen if all the rain drops turned into candy. There are other fun verses, too, including my favorite one, which isn’t in the Barney version…so I’m including the lyrics here:
If all the blizzards were candy-coated lizards
oh what a blizzard it’d be!
I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide
singing Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh (shake your head “no” this time)
If all the blizzards were candy-coated lizards
oh what a blizzard it’d be!
5. Down By the Bay
This a classic kid song that I remember singing in elementary school, and you probably do, too. It’s a great song for teaching about rhyming words (see a fun game we play with it here). I taught Little Man the song, and then he likes to make up our own verses by telling me an animal and seeing if I can come up with a rhyme to finish off the verse. Ridiculous and fun!
6. Sticky Sticky Bubblegum
This is a song Little Man learned at preschool and it took me forever to figure out what he was talking about and find it online! But, now that I have solved the mystery, I think it’s such a cute song. It’s great for practicing listening skills and following directions because kids need to pay attention to where the bubblegum is getting stuck.
7. Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
This song about some monkeys who get what’s coming to them after they tease Mr. Alligator that he can’t catch them. My boys love making the “SNAP!” of the alligator’s mouth. It’s a great little song for counting (it follows the same pattern as the monkeys who jumped on the bed), and the easy actions are good for developing fine motor skills. In fact, we just sang this song at story time this morning, and all the kids got SO into it.
8. Going on a Lion Hunt
I learned this song a few months ago when we did a rain forest unit for our home preschool. It’s essentially the same as the “Going on a Bear Hunt” song that my son learned at preschool. It is simple, and it’s great to focus attention and get out wiggles when kids get crazy.
BONUS: Sweet Zoo
Okay, this isn’t one you will probably teach your preschooler to sing because it’s complicated. But…it’s a fabulous song for dancing along to. It’s an oldie but super goodie. Make sure you listen to the end. The last line is the best part of the whole song. We had a record with this song on it when I was little, yep, a RECORD, and it still makes me smile to listen to it. I showed the above video to my boys yesterday, and they were completely entranced.
Want MORE silliness? Here are 10 more preschool songs to love!
