Songs with hand motions for toddlers.
March 26, 2018 8:03 AM Subscribe
My 12-month-old loves songs with hand motions involved: Itsy-Bitsy Spider and I'm a Little Teapot are in our top-5 rotation. (And he's a bit young for Miss Mary Mack...) I'd love to find more songs to sing with him that fit into this mold. What other songs with hand motions can we work into our rotation?
Everything Grows Together, or many other Mr. Rogers songs.
posted by Melismata at 8:05 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by Melismata at 8:05 AM on March 26, 2018
Wheels on the bus
posted by tilde at 8:06 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by tilde at 8:06 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
This Little Piggy! Oh my goodness it used to take my niece to hysterical giggles from about 1 until I became part of the enemy ranks from 2.5 onwards :)
posted by greenish at 8:07 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by greenish at 8:07 AM on March 26, 2018
Where is Thumbkin?
posted by lovecrafty at 8:08 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by lovecrafty at 8:08 AM on March 26, 2018
YMCA!
posted by amtho at 8:08 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by amtho at 8:08 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I have two hands, my left and my right, hold them up high so clean and bright, clap them softly one two three, clean little hands are good to see!
I found this video which has the tune, but also a second verse I never learned. The video also has kinda terrifying computer animation of hands? But anyway.
posted by PussKillian at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I found this video which has the tune, but also a second verse I never learned. The video also has kinda terrifying computer animation of hands? But anyway.
posted by PussKillian at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not exactly hand signals but "Trot Trot to Boston" was a big hit in our house. Hard to describe, but you can google it for a couple of cringe-worthy YouTube demonstrations.
posted by bondcliff at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 8:10 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
How about one that incorporates actual sign language?
"Sing a Rainbow" https://youtu.be/x3J4gYygdYo
posted by Temeraria at 8:11 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Sing a Rainbow" https://youtu.be/x3J4gYygdYo
posted by Temeraria at 8:11 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wheels On the Bus was the favorite around that age!
Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses."
If You're Happy and You Know It
posted by Kriesa at 8:14 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses."
If You're Happy and You Know It
posted by Kriesa at 8:14 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh! Please let me be the first to introduce you to I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee.
posted by kitcat at 8:16 AM on March 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by kitcat at 8:16 AM on March 26, 2018 [13 favorites]
Baby shark! This is the song; for the baby shark you open and close one hand; for the mommy shark you open and close two hands; for the daddy shark you open and close two arms like a huge mouth and your baby laughs hysterically. It looks like this but without the dancing.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:18 AM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 8:18 AM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bo Bo Skee [ski?] wotten totten.
Skidamarink a dink a dink.
Seconding head and shoulders knees and toes.
posted by Caz721 at 8:20 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Skidamarink a dink a dink.
Seconding head and shoulders knees and toes.
posted by Caz721 at 8:20 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
My daughter likes Miss Mary Mack--she just holds out her hands and I slap them at the appropriate times. No coordination required. Then I speed up the song at the end and tickle her, because toddler. She also started to like If You're Happy and You Know It at that age.
posted by chaiminda at 8:24 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by chaiminda at 8:24 AM on March 26, 2018
Looks like Tom Glazer's fantastic Music for Ones and Twos didn't make it into the modern age. It's only available used in vinyl, though there are a few songs on youtube. Anyway, my kids would just make up their own hand motions to many of his songs. There is a book version - but you can't look inside it, so I don't know what it has.
posted by FencingGal at 8:24 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by FencingGal at 8:24 AM on March 26, 2018
If You're Happy and You Know It, and the Hokey Pokey both can contain infinite variations.
Ring Around the Rosey is great as long as you're cool with falling down 100 times a day.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:30 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ring Around the Rosey is great as long as you're cool with falling down 100 times a day.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:30 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can find loads more of these if you Google the creepy term “fingerplay songs.”
posted by corey flood at 8:32 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by corey flood at 8:32 AM on March 26, 2018
Little Bunny Foo Foo
Spooky Walk
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 8:37 AM on March 26, 2018
Spooky Walk
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 8:37 AM on March 26, 2018
You'll be wanting the Scottish song "Three Craws" - with actions as demonstrated here by wee Amie . (numerically straightened version here)
posted by rongorongo at 8:38 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 8:38 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can sing the chorus of "Hands up, Baby, hands up".
Almost every word has a really easy obvious sign, and you can sprinkle in a little ASL to fill it out.
Hands up! Baby, hands up!
Raise hands! Cradle baby, Raise hands!
Gimme your heart! Gimme gimme your heart, gimme gimme
Come-here motion, point, ASL "heart" = poke heart with middle finger
All your love, all your love
ASL "all" = swoopy motion ending with a back-to-palm hand clap,
point for "your", ASL "love" = fists crossed over chest
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:44 AM on March 26, 2018
Almost every word has a really easy obvious sign, and you can sprinkle in a little ASL to fill it out.
Hands up! Baby, hands up!
Raise hands! Cradle baby, Raise hands!
Gimme your heart! Gimme gimme your heart, gimme gimme
Come-here motion, point, ASL "heart" = poke heart with middle finger
All your love, all your love
ASL "all" = swoopy motion ending with a back-to-palm hand clap,
point for "your", ASL "love" = fists crossed over chest
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:44 AM on March 26, 2018
Hokey Pokey
Round and round the garden, goes the little bear, one step, two step, tickle under there! (you do this one on their tummy and then tickle under their chin, it's still a hit with my 30 month old)
There was a little mouse (they make a gesture of holding something in their hand) who had a little house, and it was right here! (another tickle under the chin outcome)
Row row row your boat is fun with them sitting in your lap and rocking back and forth. Our daycare does a second verse with the same words, but you're in a storm and crashing back and forth.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:02 AM on March 26, 2018
Round and round the garden, goes the little bear, one step, two step, tickle under there! (you do this one on their tummy and then tickle under their chin, it's still a hit with my 30 month old)
There was a little mouse (they make a gesture of holding something in their hand) who had a little house, and it was right here! (another tickle under the chin outcome)
Row row row your boat is fun with them sitting in your lap and rocking back and forth. Our daycare does a second verse with the same words, but you're in a storm and crashing back and forth.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:02 AM on March 26, 2018
I learned the chorus to "You Are My Sunshine" in sign language in preschool.
posted by soelo at 9:22 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 9:22 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Look up Jbrary on YouTube for lots and lots of examples! They are a children’s librarian duo. My almost 1 year old is obsessed with me singing the Zoom Zoom Zoom song they do.
posted by wsquared at 9:24 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by wsquared at 9:24 AM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
If it helps you in your searching, we call these “finger plays” in our storytime planning.
posted by itsamermaid at 9:36 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by itsamermaid at 9:36 AM on March 26, 2018
"Open, shut them".
posted by glitter at 9:52 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by glitter at 9:52 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wibbleton to Wibbleton, smooth road to London town, and Grand old Duke of York are three that my kids still remember and play. My 13 year was entertaining 3 kids that we don't know with them yesterday. Not finger songs but they do have motions.
posted by Ftsqg at 10:10 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by Ftsqg at 10:10 AM on March 26, 2018
Makaton (simplified BSL) Nursery Rhymes was a massive hit with my youngest brother as a toddler.
posted by Morfil Ffyrnig at 10:53 AM on March 26, 2018
posted by Morfil Ffyrnig at 10:53 AM on March 26, 2018
Rolly polly is a big hit in our house, even with my 5 year old.
Charlie Chaplin Went to France is also very popular with my girls, but it's legs, not hands.
posted by dotparker at 11:09 AM on March 26, 2018
Charlie Chaplin Went to France is also very popular with my girls, but it's legs, not hands.
posted by dotparker at 11:09 AM on March 26, 2018
Here to echo Baby Bumblebee and Little Bunny Foo Foo!
posted by orrnyereg at 12:53 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by orrnyereg at 12:53 PM on March 26, 2018
The ants go marching was a favorite of my 4 year old students. I just made up my own actions.
posted by kathrynm at 1:34 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by kathrynm at 1:34 PM on March 26, 2018
EArly childhood educators have a term of art for this: fingerplays.
25 fun fingerplays for preschoolers
15 Preschool counting songs, fingerplays and rhymes
Fingerplays for young children
posted by Miko at 1:49 PM on March 26, 2018
25 fun fingerplays for preschoolers
15 Preschool counting songs, fingerplays and rhymes
Fingerplays for young children
posted by Miko at 1:49 PM on March 26, 2018
Singing Hands is a whole YouTube channel of Makaton songs. (A Singing Hands video was what inspired the recent viral Downs Syndrome Carpool Karaoke video).
posted by penguin pie at 2:45 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by penguin pie at 2:45 PM on March 26, 2018
There's the Dingle Dangle Scarecrow song, and Little Peter Rabbit Had a Fly Upon His Nose.
And thank you for a very weird but fun trip back 40 years into my childhood. :)
posted by ninazer0 at 3:09 PM on March 26, 2018
And thank you for a very weird but fun trip back 40 years into my childhood. :)
posted by ninazer0 at 3:09 PM on March 26, 2018
A Ram Sam Sam. I learned this one as a part of leading storytime.
posted by river99 at 7:29 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by river99 at 7:29 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you’re ok with Jewish songs: David, Melech Yisrael
posted by phoenixy at 8:24 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by phoenixy at 8:24 PM on March 26, 2018
Three little monkeys jumping on the bed (3 fingers on one hand, boucing against other arm)
One fell off (lift hand away and down in falling motion) and bumped his head (knock head)
Mommy called the doctor (make phone gesture to head)
And the doctor said
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed" (shake finger in admonishing gesture)
Two little monkeys...(repeat starting with two fingers)
One little monkey...
And the doctor said
"Time for all the little monkeys to be in bed"
Note: when I goggled this, it started with five monkey but that was too many monkeys for our house.
posted by metahawk at 11:20 PM on March 26, 2018
One fell off (lift hand away and down in falling motion) and bumped his head (knock head)
Mommy called the doctor (make phone gesture to head)
And the doctor said
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed" (shake finger in admonishing gesture)
Two little monkeys...(repeat starting with two fingers)
One little monkey...
And the doctor said
"Time for all the little monkeys to be in bed"
Note: when I goggled this, it started with five monkey but that was too many monkeys for our house.
posted by metahawk at 11:20 PM on March 26, 2018
Wind the bobbin up! It's a UK nursery song with gestures. Very simple to learn, and the toddlers I've known seem to love it. You can find a (sort of wan) video demonstrating the gestures on the Wikipedia page, or here's a more energetic animated version.
posted by Cimrmanova at 12:32 AM on March 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Cimrmanova at 12:32 AM on March 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
When my guys were tiny, we used Rachel Coleman's Signing Time and Baby Signing Time DVDs to teach them stuff like more, milk, hungry, hurt, yes, no ... there were some fun voice and ASL songs on there also that I still remember like the one about putting a bunch of weird stuff on your pizza.
posted by turkeybrain at 10:23 AM on March 27, 2018
posted by turkeybrain at 10:23 AM on March 27, 2018
Response by poster: All of these are wonderful! I marked the best one because that's the song my grandmother used to sing to me and it had left my memory until this moment. Thank you all!
posted by melodykramer at 12:34 PM on March 27, 2018
posted by melodykramer at 12:34 PM on March 27, 2018
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posted by Melismata at 8:03 AM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]