The best preschool songs combine simple, repetitive melodies with simple hand motions that encourage children to practice motor skills, language, and interact with others. These are our 30 favorite songs to sing with toddlers and little kids.

During our preschool years, if you had stepped into our homeschool on almost any morning, the first thing you would have heard was music and singing. For years, songs have been the very first thing we do as we gather to learn.

Songs have a way of boosting everyone’s mood and gently drawing everyone together, even if they aren’t totally awake yet or ready to sit down for formal learning. Sleepy children wake up, busy hands find something to do, and all those little wiggles that make it hard to sit and focus are given a job to do: dance and sing! We pull out play scarves, rhythm sticks, and simple instruments, and before long everyone is dancing and singing together.

Beginning the day with music isn’t just a fun way to start the day off. Music and movement creates connection, fills our home with joy, and prepares little minds and bodies for learning.

In this blog post I am sharing the reasons why I love incorporating music into our homeschool, especially for toddlers and preschoolers. I’m also sharing my favorite preschool songs to share with your kids.

In this blog post:

• Reasons I love adding music and movement to our homeschool rhythm
• 30+ favorite preschool songs for kids to learn
• Music and movement with Treehouse Story School: Preschool
• Frequently asked questions about singing songs with preschoolers

Reasons I love adding music and movement to our homeschool rhythm

I love the way that music naturally teaches and encourages children to learn. You can add music to your homeschool with songs, instruments, or even hand rhymes. With music, children often don’t realize they are learning because they are having so much fun. Through songs, my children memorized the alphabet, practiced counting, learned the names of the continents, and tucked away all sorts of facts that have stayed with them far longer than if I had simply asked them to repeat information. 

Music engages the whole child: their ears, voices, hands, and bodies. This experience makes learning feel less like work and more like play. Especially in the toddler and preschool years, adding music reinforces the kind of foundation I want to build, one where fun and delight are the foundation of everyday learning.

Here are some other studied benefits of introducing children to music and songs at an early age (babies, toddlers, and preschoolers):

• Musical sense and skill: Exposing children to music helps kids learn how to sing in tune and how to keep a beat. It also helps them recognize and repeat patterns, and begin to distinguish between small differences in sounds, like voices, notes, or instruments. 
• Brain connections: There are so many ways that music aids in early childhood development. Music helps children develop their language skills as they build vocabulary and listen to rhyming words. It supports cognitive development and improves memory and concentration. It improves social and emotional health, including teaching children how to cooperate, mimic, learn, and engage with each other. Neurologists believe that music helps strengthen connection between the two hemispheres of the brain, increasing problem-solving skills and emotional resilience (School of Rock).
• Confidence, creativity, and exploration: Music gives children the gift of experimenting and creating as they listen and sing along with songs they know. 

30+ favorite preschool songs for kids to learn

If you are looking for sweet children’s songs to play at home or in the car with your children, here is a list of my favorite children’s songs from over the years. These songs include classic children’s songs, songs that practice the alphabet and counting, songs that incorporate movement, and songs that tell simple stories and teach manners. Save and print the full list below.

• The Baby Animals Song – Kids TV 123
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Club House Kids
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – Belle and the Nursery Rhymes Band
• If You’re Happy and You Know It – Raffi
• Five Little Puppies Went Out One Day – Baby Walrus, Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs
• I Have Five Senses – Jack Hartmann
• The Sharing Song – Raffi 
• All Around the Kitchen – Music Together
• Days of the Week – Mister Rogers
• Busy Like a Bee – Stephanie Leavell
• Mister Rabbit – Caspar Babypants
• Exercise Rhyme and Freeze – Jack Hartmann
• The Exercise Game #1 – Mark D. Pencil
• Drip Drip Ice Cream – Tiptoe Giants
• Clean It Up – The Laurie Berkner Band
• Ten Little Piggies – Caspar Babypants
• The Teddy Bears’ Picnic – ABC Kids
• Walking in the Forest – Super Simple Songs
• Egg Shaker Song – Mister Q
• Colors Freeze Dance Song – The Kiboomers 
• As Quiet as a Mouse – Super Simple Songs
• Open, Shut Them – Old Town School of Folk Music
• Deep in the Dirt – Caspar Babypants 
• The Green Grass Grew All Around – Charlie Hope
• I Love Bugs! – Kimbo Children’s Music
• Row, Row, Row – Raffi 
• Nocturnal Animals – Banana Slug String Band
• Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head – Laura Doherty
• When You’re Sick Rest Is Best – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
• Baby Beluga – Raffi 
• ABC – Lisa Loeb
• Pat a Cake – Piccolo Music 
• The Phonics Alphabet Song – Toddler Tunes, Oscar & Marie

Music and movement with Treehouse Story School: Preschool

We love using music to gather children together and gently reinforce learning ideas, especially for toddlers and preschoolers. Treehouse Story School: Preschool is a story-filled curriculum that features children’s songs and hand rhymes with each week of learning, with a playlist of songs that connect with themes and ideas in classic children’s stories.

Each week of Treehouse Story School: Preschool features a picture book, inviting children into connection and learning through music and movement, play-based narration, alphabet and number play, motor skills, practical life development, crafts, and baking together. This curriculum seamlessly integrates music with gentle learning opportunities to introduce children to early learning concepts as they connect with you.

To learn more, try a free week below. 

Frequently asked questions about singing songs with preschoolers

How can I encourage my toddler to participate more in singing songs with me? They seem to listen but they don’t sing along.

Don’t be alarmed if children are only watching you sing, or opt to do something else when you want them to listen or learn a new song with you. Even if they aren’t participating, children are still learning when they watch silently or listen to music being played. They are receiving sensory musical input as you play music in your home. Later, you may see them mimic or sing the songs once they have heard them several times.

What are some easy ways to have music time with my preschooler if I’m not musically inclined or can’t play an instrument?

You don’t need to be musically gifted to expose your children to music and children’s songs. You can play your favorite songs on Spotify and listen or sing together, or you can let them play with children’s musical instruments and simply play with the sounds different instruments can create.

Do toddlers and preschoolers need musical instruments to play music?

Young children do not need any special equipment for musical play, even though musical instruments for little kids are very fun. You can sing and clap your hands together, or use your hands and feet to make percussion sounds by tapping the surface of a table or stomping on the floor. You can also use kitchen utensils like spoons, pots, and pans to make interesting sounds. Many things can create a musical experience if you are creative.

Do you recommend any musical classes for young children?

Children do not need a formal music class to enjoy singing songs and playing with instruments. We intentionally included a music and movement section in Treehouse Story School: Preschool because we love casually including music while learning together with your child. However, Music Together is a widely known early childhood music program that is very fun for children, if there is one in your area.

Do you sing songs with your children at home? Share your favorites in the comments below.

Lyndsey Mimnagh is a homeschool mom of four, founder of Treehouse Schoolhouse, and lifelong believer in the power of stories, play, and creativity. Lyndsey lives in North Carolina with her husband and children and can usually be found reading aloud, crafting, hiking, or enjoying good espresso. Connect with her on Instagram @treehouse_schoolhouse.