Preschool Songs Educate Children

Most people know that preschool songs are a favorite among young children. However, not as many people understand why and how preschool songs benefit young children. There are many different ways that music, and songs in particular, help preschool children. These include teaching basic skills, promoting activity, increasing confidence and creating a fun learning environment. These all-important skills are the reason that preschool songs are an essential part of every preschool curriculum.

Teaches Basic Skills

Preschoolers have lots to learn; numbers, letters, spelling, even the day's weather. Long boring teaching sessions don't work well with children who have the attention spans of...well, young children. Songs can make these basic skills easier to learn and remember for young developing minds. For example, Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes is a fun and memorable song that effectively teaches the parts of the body. For those of you who don't know this particular ditty, it goes like this:

'Head and shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes
Head and shoulders knees and toes, Knees and toes
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes'

As you name the different body parts, you place your hands (or point to) that part. From experience I can tell you that children love this song and will remember it after only singing it a few times. It is important to start off singing it slow that the preschoolers can keep up with the movements. Over time you can gradually speed up the pace to keep the song-play exciting.

Promotes Activity

Anyone who has a three or four year old knows that they love to MOVE! In fact, it's much easier to get them up and running around than it is to try and convince them to sit still. And it is better for them too. With the country all up in arms about the increase in childhood obesity, it is a good idea to encourage all the activity possible while they still like jumping around and dancing, before television and video games take over their lives. Some great songs for encouraging movement are If You're Happy And You Know It and The Hokey Pokey both of which involve controlling different parts of the body. When you promote movement, you are increasing a child's gross motor skill and their understanding of their own body. Additionally, songs like The Hokey Pokey introduces the ideas of left and right to a preschool child.

Increases Confidence

Singing and dancing allows a preschool child to demonstrate their independence and autonomy. As they get better at remembering the words of the preschool songs and movements that go along, the children will feel more confident and powerful in their own right. Later on they may be allowed to choose and lead a sing-a-long whether in a classroom setting or just between you and your own child. Knowing that they can accomplish something like memorizing a song and singing it with you gives any child a real sense of confidence and empowerment.

Creates A Fun Learning Environment

Above all else, everything a preschooler does should have some element of fun to it. Later on, they will be bogged down with schoolwork and chores and activities so for now it is important that they can learn that learning can be fun. Teaching through preschool songs is a great way to add a bit of fun to any lesson, whether it is tying shoes or animal sounds. Additionally, songs sung during transitions from one activity to another can help alleviate the trouble that some young children have with moving from one thing to another by providing a consistent, comforting activity.

For all these reasons, and more, it is important to include singing into the daily routine of preschool-age children. Songs provide a chance for young children to learn new things more easily as well as increasing their activity level and self-confidence. Best of all, preschool songs add an important and much-needed element of fun into the child's life.

Here are the words to some of my favorite preschool songs to teach numbers and counting to young children:

Hickory Dickory Doc
Hickory Dickory Doc
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one, the mouse ran down
Hickory Dickory Doc

Hickory Dickory Doc
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck two, the mouse said boo
Hickory Dickory Doc

Hckory Dickory Doc
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck three, the mouse said Whee
Hickory Dickory Doc

Ten Little Monkeys
Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

Nine little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

Continue through eight, seven, six...until no more monkeys are jumping on the bed

100 Bottles Of Pop
100 bottles of pop on the wall
100 bottles of pop
Take ten down and pass them around
90 bottles of pop on the wall

Continue by tens until you get down to ten bottles of pop

10 bottles of pop on the wall
10 bottles of pop
Take one down and pass it around
9 bottles of pop on the wall

Continue counting down by ones until there are no more bottles of pop on the wall

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
This song can also be sung as One, Two, Tie My Shoe
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Three, Four, Shut The Door
Five Six, Pick Up Sticks
Seven, Eight, Lay Them Straight
Nine, Ten, Start Over Again

The Ants Go Marching
The ants go marching one by one.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one;
The little one stops to suck his thumb,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching two by two.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching two by two.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching two by two;
The little one stops to tie his shoe,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching three by three.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching three by three.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching three by three;
The little one stops to climb a tree,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching four by four.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching four by four.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching four by four;
The little one stops to shut the door,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching five by five.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching five by five.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching five by five;
The little one stops to take a dive,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching six by six.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching six by six.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching six by six;
The little one stops to pick up sticks,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching seven by seven.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching seven by seven.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching seven by seven;
The little one stops to pray to heaven,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching eight by eight.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching eight by eight.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching eight by eight;
The little one stops to rollerskate,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching nine by nine.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching nine by nine.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching nine by nine;
The little one stops to check the time,
And they all go marching down into the ground
To get out of the rain.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ants go marching ten by ten.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching ten by ten.
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching ten by ten;
The little one stops to shout
"THE END!!"

Here are the words for some of the most popular and well-loved alphabet songs for young children:

BINGO - This is a spelling song accompanied by clapping

There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-oh
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
and Bingo was his name-oh

There was a farmer has a dog
And Bingo was his name-oh
(clap)-I-N-G-O
(clap)-I-N-G-O
(clap)-I-N-G-O
And Bingo was his name-oh

Continue repeating the same verse, each time replacing an additional letter with a clap, until all the letters have been replaced with clapping.

The Alphabet Letter/Sound/Word Song - Sung to the tune of Twinkle,Twinkle

Say the letter, say the sound the letter makes and finally say the word.
A /a/ apple
B /b/ ball
C /c/ cat
D /d/doll
E /e/ edge
F /f/fan
G /g/ goat
H/h/hand
I/i/Indian
J /j/ jam
K /k/ kite
L /l/ lamb
M /m/ mouse
N /n/ nickel
O /o/ octopus
P /p/ pickle
Q /q/ queen
R /r/ rail
S /s/ sun
T /t/ tail
U /u/ umbrella
V /v/ van
W /w/ watch
x /x/ x-ray man
Y /y/ yo-yo
Z /z/ zoo

An Alphabet Rhyme

A is for apple, armadillo and air.
B is for book, beachball and bear.
C is for cat, crayon and cape.
D is for dog, dragon and drapes.
E is for elephant, eagle and eye.
F is for farm, fire and fly.
G is for goat, golf and guy.
H is for hat, hippo and hi.
I is for instrument, ice and igloo.
J is for juggle, jungle and jumparoo.
K is for kangaroo, kite and kid.
L is for lamb, lion, and lid.
M is for mother, mouse, and might.
N is for noodle, nest and night.
O is for octopus, ostrich and owl.
P is for penguin, pig and pal.
Q is for queen, quilt and quail.
R is for rabbit, rainbow and rail.
S is for seal, swan and sun.
T is for table, tiger and ton.
U is for umbrella, underwear and umpire.
V is for vulture, volcano and vampire.
W is for wizard, water and wishbone.
X is for x-ray, xerox and xylophone.
Y is for yak, yogurt and you.
Z is for zebra, zion and zoo.

Here are the words for some of the most popular body parts songs for young children.

The Hokey Pokey
The "Hokey Pokey" is a gesture made by pointing your index fingers up towards the sky and, alternating left and right, raising your hands up and down slightly

You put left leg in
You take left leg out
You put left leg in and shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around
That's what its all about!

You put your right leg in
You take your right leg out
You put your right leg in and shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around
That's what its all about!

Continue with other body parts until...

You put your whole self in
You take your whole self out
You put your whole self in and shake yourself about
You do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around
That's what its all about!

Ten Little Fingers

I have ten fingers and they all belong to me (hold hands up)
I can make them do things Would you like to see?
I can shut them up tight (form fist)
Or open them wide (hold fingers out)
I can put them together or make them all hide (Close both fists)
I can make them jump high (put hands over head)
I can make them go low (put hands down)
I can fold them quietly and hold them just so (put hands in lap)

If You're Happy And You Know It

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands

If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet

If you're happy and you know it, nod your head
If you're happy and you know it, nod your head
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, nod your head

More verses
...go kiss kiss
...spin around
...roar out loud
...say squeak squeak

Last Verse
If you're happy and you know it, shout...
Hoorah!

As any parent knows getting a preschooler to do something different can be more than a challenge when the child is fixed on something. Songs can help your child more easily transition from one activity to the next. Following are some of the preschool songs we use in my house to get my daughter to do what we need her to do.

This is the Way We Start Our Day (sung to Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we start our day
start our day, start our day
This is the way we start our day
So early in the Morning

This is the way we go downstairs
go downstairs, go downstairs
This is the way we go downstairs
So early in the Morning

This is the way we eat breakfast
eat breakfast, eat breakfast
This is the way we eat breakfast
So early in the Morning

This is the way we brush our teeth
brush our teeth, brush our teeth
This is the way we brush our teeth
So early in the morning,

Clean-up Time
(We started using this because they used it in school and it worked)
Clean-up, clean-up
Everybody get some toys.
Clean-up, clean-up
All the little girls and boys.
Clean-up, clean-up
Everybody do your share.
Clean-up, clean-up
Everybody, everywhere.

It's Bath Time (sung to You're My Sunshine)

It's Bath time
Yes, your bath time
You'll get all soapy
And squeeky clean
You'll play with Duckie
And your bath toys too
Please get ready for your bath time.

For bedtime we let our daughter pick a song for us to sing so it changes almost everynight. Her favorites are Hush Little Baby, Twinkle Twinkle, and You Are My Sunshine.

Using these songs throughout your day should make your child's normal routine more fun. More fun means better listening!