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Best Songs To Sing With Your Preschooler

Singing Builds Bonds, Literacy, EI, Mathematical & Spatial Awareness.

By Melissa Shrader Editor Publisher Fort Collins Macaroni Kid January 2, 2023

Songs to sing to your kiddos to build bonds, literacy, emotional intelligence, mathematical and spatial awareness. 

What can we say, singing and playing is a fun way to teach and learn. 


Favorite Classic Preschool Songs

These classics have been around for generations. 

  • Incy Wincy Spider
  • Jack and Jill
  • Miss Polly Had a Dolly
  • I’m a Little Teapot
  • Humpty Dumpty
  • Three Blind Mice
  • Hot Cross Buns
  • The Grand Old Duke of York
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • One Potato
  • Pat-a-Cake
  • Polly Put the Kettle On
  • Hickory, Dickory, Dock
  • Old Macdonald Had a Farm
  • The Wheels on the Bus
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  • One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
  • Hey Diddle, Diddle
  • Oh Where Oh Where Has my Little Dog Gone?
  • Baa, Baa Black Sheep
  • If You’re Happy and You Know It
  • Rain, Rain, Go Away
  • Ring-a-Ring o’ Roses
  • Two Little Dickie Birds
  • I Hear Thunder
  • See-Saw Margery Daw
  • One, Two, Three, Four, Five
  • Little Bo Peep
  • Sing a Song of Sixpence
  • Little Miss Muffet
  • Teddy Bear’s Picnic
  • Five Little Ducks
  • Muffin Man
  • This Old Man
  • This Little Piggy
  • This is the Way We Brush Our Hair
  • Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush


Favorite Action Songs

These teach your child to follow instructions and to listen. 

  • I’m a Little Teapot
  • Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
  • Hop a Little, Jump a Little
  • Miss Polly Had a Dolly
  • The Elephant Goes
  • The Wheels on the Bus
  • One Grey Elephant Balancing
  • If You’re Happy and You Know It!
  • Open, Shut Them


Favorite Movement Songs

These are great for getting kids up and moving! If your kids are board these will get them excited and exhausted! 

  • Hello Hello!
  • Joannie Works With One Hammer
  • The Hokey Pokey
  • Walking Walking
  • Rock-A-Bye Your Bear
  • We All Fall Down
  • Hot Potato
  • Move!
  • Do The Propeller
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes


Favorite Bedtime Rhymes

Here's our list to help get kids thinking about bedtime and getting some shut eye. 

  • Go To Bed Late
  • Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
  • Star Light, Star Bright
  • Rock-a-Bye Baby
  • Bed In Summer
  • Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
  • The Evening is Coming
  • Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite

Counting Songs

One, Two, Three, & More of our favorite counting songs.

  • The Ants Go Marching
  • Ten Green Bottles
  • One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
  • Ten Little Fingers
  • Ten in a Bed
  • Five Fat Sausages
  • Five Little Speckled Frogs
  • One, Two, Three, Four, Five
  • Five Little Snowmen
  • Rabbits


Favorite Number Rhymes

Rhyming here, Rhyming there, Rhyming everywhere! 

  • Hot Cross Buns
  • Five Fat Peas
  • One for Sorrow
  • Rub-a-Dub-Dub
  • One, Two, Three, Four
  • Five Currant Buns
  • One Potato, Two Potatoes
  • Hickory Dickory…Crash
  • How Many Fingers on One Hand?
  • Ten Little Fire Trucks
  • The Bees Go Buzzing
  • Ten Little Fishies

Favorite Finger Plays

I have to admit, I love finger plays. These help incorporate fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Added bonus: They are fun! 

  • Tommy Thumb
  • I Saw A Little Bunny
  • Grandmother’s Glasses
  • Two Little Dickey Birds
  • Here is the Beehive
  • This Little Piggy
  • This is my Garden
  • Here is a Bunny
  • Here is a Turtle
  • Tommy Thumb Where Are You?
  • Where Is Thumbkin?
  • Ten Fingers


Favorite Clapping Songs

You can clap to any tune but these are made for it. 

  • A Sailor Went to Sea
  • Miss Lucy
  • Double This, Double That
  • Down Down Baby
  • Miss Mary Mack


Favorite Animal Songs

There's just something about animals, and bugs, and there are a couple of other fun songs thrown in too. 

  • We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
  • Old MacDonald Had a Farm
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • Bingo
  • Incy Wincy Spider
  • Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?
  • Teddy Bears’ Picnic
  • Three Blind Mice
  • Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
  • One Little Elephant Balancing
  • Hop Little Bunnies
  • Hickory Dickory Dock (With a Twist)
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb (With a Twist)


Favorite Clean-Up Songs

Need a little help getting your preschooler to help clean? These songs make it a bit easier. 


Favorite Hand-Washing Songs

Your kids will learn proper handwashing technique, and get them in the habit of washing regularly.


Favorite Ocean Songs

Singing about the ocean and it's creatures is an awesome way to learn. Plus there are a couple with fingerplay too! 

  • Five Little Fish
  • Baby Shark
  • A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea
  • Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  • One, Two, Three, Four, Five
  • Animals in the Ocean
  • Mr. Jellyfish (fingerplay)
  • Whale (fingerplay)

Favorite Food Songs

Singing about food can be fun and may make you hungry. We put out snacks that go with the songs. It's a great way to get your kids to try some new foods. 

  • Super Potato 
  • Apples & Bananas
  • Who Took The Cookie?
  • Are You Hungry?
  • Peas Porridge Hot
  • Pat-A-Cake
  • Do You Like Broccoli Ice Cream?
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly
  • Pizza Party
  • The Muffin Man


Favorite Rainbow Songs

Songs about rainbows and dreaming of nicer days pares well with finger painting and coloring on a rainy day, or snowy day. 

  • Sing a Rainbow
  • The Rainbow Song
  • Rainbow, Rainbow 
  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow
  • Rainbow of Colors 
  • Rainbow Colors Song 
  • Colors of the Rainbow 

Favorite Classic Fun Nursery Rhymes

Just a few more songs we couldn't leave out. 

Many of these songs are easily found on YouTube, The Wiggles, Peppa Pig, Super Simple, The Wizard Of Oz, and Barney.