Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut when it comes to preschool songs? Are your children getting bored at circle time when you sing the same song again? Then this is the post for you.
This big list of simple preschool songs includes a wide variety of songs. Some of them you may have sung as a child, while others are original songs by S. J. Little. Some of the preschool songs have links to help you out. The more common songs do not have links, but can easily be researched through a quick Google search or on Youtube.
Know a common preschool song I’m missing? Feel free to add it to the comments section.
Preschool songs are incredibly helpful during transition times and to keep children engaged at circle time. I recommend learning a few of these songs so well that you can sing them anywhere.
This is my favourite Valentine’s day song for children aged 1-3. Not only is it about hearts, it also has engaging actions and is excellent for teaching basic concepts such as small, medium, large, and colours.
While this song can be sung with 4 year olds, they are more quick to become bored with the repetitive nature of this song. 1 year olds, 2 year olds, and 3 year olds, on the other hand, thrive on repetition enabling them to sing along.
I recommend only singing 3-5 verses in each sitting. Otherwise, the song can get long.
For the full educational benefit, this song requires visuals. I have a free printout for you with big, medium, and small hearts. In the past, I have also used foam heart stickers that are shiny or sparkly. I recommend having two of each type of heart – one for each hand.
I have been singing this song for so long with my class that I’ve lost track of who wrote it. I think I may have come up with the idea, but I can’t recall for sure, so I will list it as an unknown author.
Great Big Heart
Author: Unknown
Tune: Tommy Thumb
Great big heart, great big heart,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?
Tiny heart, tiny heart,
Where are you?
Here I am, here I am.
How do you do?
Other Verses:
Medium heart
Pink heart
Purple heart
Red heart
White heart
Shiny heart
Sparkly heart
Actions:
Prep visuals ahead of time. You will want two matching hearts for each type of heart you want to sing about.
Hold one heart in each hand. Hide your hands behind your back.
Great big heart, great big heart, where are you? – Gently sway to the tune
Here I am – Bring one heart in front of you
Here I am – Bring the other heart in front of you
How do you do? – Move both hearts as though greeting each other
Want a free visual to enhance the educational element of this song? Here’s one for you. Download it for free.
Handwashing is a skill young children do not automatically know. They must be taught.
How can you teach your preschooler to wash their hands?
Show them how to wash their hands by being a good model.
Explain to them why we wash our hands. (To remove dirt and germs.)
Gently remind them how to wash their hands. (You’ll have to do this many times!)
Teach them this song so they can sing while washing their hands.
The song below is designed to remind children to wash all areas of their hands, not just the front. The length it takes to sing the song at a regular pace is longer than the recommended 20 second minimum for handwashing.
*Note that the following song is an original song by S. J. Little. Please be sure to reference her when sharing the song in writing.
Handwashing Song
Words by: S. J. Little
Tune: Open and Shut Them
Front and back and
Front and back and
In between your fingers.
Finger tips, and thumbs, and nails.
Now do it once again.
Front and back and
Front and back and
In between your fingers.
Finger tips, and thumbs, and nails.
Now rinse the bubbles off.
What is your favourite way to teach your preschooler how to wash their hands?
Looking for a Christmas song that is simple, fun, and educational? Then this is the song for you.
Sung to the classic tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep, this preschool Christmas song is all about Christmas lights and their colours. Younger children can learn the names of the colours while older children can be challenged to grasp the concept of patterns.
Shine, Shine, Christmas Lights
Tune: Baa Baa Black Sheep
Lyrics by: S. J. Little
Shine, shine, Christmas lights, colours all a-glow.
Red, green, white, blue; pink and yellow too.
Some on the rooftop, some on the tree.
Saying it’s Christmas time, come and see.
Shine, shine, Christmas lights, colours all a-glow.
Red, green, white, blue; pink and yellow too.
Consider adding a visual to this song so that your children can see each colour of light as the song mentions it. To help you out, I’ve created a downloadable printable you can use. It’s free when you sign up for my once a month email list. Check it out below.
There you have it, the Christmas Lights preschool song. Try singing it today with your 2 year old, 3 year old, or 4 year old.
Have you ever found yourself struggling for inspiration when it comes to planning preschool crafts? Do you need art that corresponds with your current theme?
Fear not. This article includes five basic preschool art ideas that can be adapted to any theme.
Better yet, they don’t require all sorts of expensive supplies. A pair of scissors, paper, paint, and white glue will get you through most of them.
1. Free Paint With an Object
Choose a size and colour of paper, which colour of paint, and what to paint with. The children paint freely on the paper. These crafts are simple to prep, though they can be messy to clean up.
Tips:
I typically choose only 1-3 colours of paint. Choosing colours that don’t result in brown when mixed can keep the finished products looking bright and cheery even with free painting.
Example of Adapting for Theme:
For under the sea, I cut the paper into a fish shape. I then let the children paint on it using yarn.
For forest animals, I cut the paper into the shape of a fox and give them orange paint.
Pre-cut the pieces of a craft and let the child glue them together.
Expect a lot of prep with these crafts. Older children can cut out simple pieces for themselves (with supervision), but younger children will need you to prep all the pieces for them. The benefit of all that prep work is that the craft will turn out looking (mostly) like the example.
For those of you concerned that this type of craft is product oriented rather than process oriented art, consider it as a chance for your children to practice their puzzle making skills. They are learning: same/different, following instructions, sequencing, names of colours and shapes, and more. These are all valuable skills for a preschooler. Don’t be surprised to see a gleam of pride in their eye when they hold up their completed craft. At the same time, give them freedom within the craft to position their pieces as they wish.
Tips:
Pinterest is full of examples of these sorts of crafts.
Rather than using glue sticks, pour white glue onto a flat dish and give your children popsicle sticks to dip in the glue and apply it.
Example of Adapting for Theme:
For forest animals, I cut out the parts of an owl, then let the children glue the pieces together. In the example shown, I also encouraged the children to paint the body of the owl.
For transportation, consider pre-cutting the parts of a car and then letting your children glue them together. You’ll need the car body, the wheels, and the windows.
3. Glue Cut Outs to a Paper
This is one of my favourite types of crafts when teaching 2 year olds. I give them a popsicle stick, a small dish of white glue, a piece of paper, and small cutouts to glue onto that paper. Some of them cover the page with glue but only put one cutout on, while others cover the entire page with cutouts.
Tips:
Try adding a drop of food colouring to the glue. This makes it feel like paint and show up when dried on that picture with hardly any cutouts.
Examples of adapting for theme:
For the story of Joseph’s coat of many colours, I give the children coloured pieces of paper to rip and glue onto the pre-cut shape of the coat.
For zoo animals, I give them a giraffe colouring sheet and a piece of brown paper. I encourage them to rip the brown paper into small pieces. Once done, I provide glue with orange food colouring to stick the pieces on the giraffe.
4. Cut Around It
This is a fantastic way to add scissor practice into your craft time. I choose a colouring sheet or draw a shape on a paper and have the children cut it out. After they’ve finished cutting it, give them something to decorate it with.
Tips:
Start with one simple large shape to cut. As your children improve their scissor skills, you can give them harder shapes to cut.
When having children cut out a colouring sheet, I find it helpful to draw a thick line an inch wider than the picture on the colouring page. This way the children have a clear line to follow and are less likely to clip off some of the picture.
Example of Adapting for Theme:
When doing outer space, I draw a circle on a piece of coloured paper and have the children cut it out. I then let them decorate it with watercolour paints or crayons (depending on the children’s ability level and the number of adults available to supervise.)
Another time, for zoo animals, I took a crocodile colouring sheet and drew a line around it. I had the children cut along that line and then gave them green paint.
5. Stencils
Stencils can be a lot of fun. I grab a piece of cardboard, sketch a shape on it, then cut it out. Sometimes I use the cut out shape, but other times I use what remains of the cardboard as a stencil. I place the stencil over a piece of paper and let the children paint whatever they can see of the paper. I pull the stencil off and – ta da – you have a picture.
Tips:
If you want the stencil to last several classes, use a more durable material such as fun foam.
I find using sponges and a small amount of paint works best with stencils.
Using a couple of small pieces of tape can help keep the stencil and paper in place.
Not good at drawing? No problem, find a colouring sheet to trace in order to get the outline for your stencil.
Especially if you’re using cardboard for your stencils, I recommend cutting a couple of extra stencils for just in case.
Example of Adapting for Theme:
For Valentines Day, I cut out heart shaped stencils which we could use to paint cards for the children’s families.
When teaching about winter animals, I cut out a polar bear. We could use the outer part of the stencil over black paper and the children could paint with white.
I hope this list gives you the inspiration you need as you plan your upcoming preschool art times.
Do you have other ideas to add to the list? Put your favourites in the comments below to help us all out.
