Do your kids love singing rhymes and songs about animals or are you searching specifically for songs to go with your animal theme?
Here are some fun animal songs for preschoolers. Some are classic songs and rhymes and some are newer on the scene but already favourites.
Songs are a great way for children to learn a multitude of skills in early childhood and they are a vital part of growing up.
Singing songs is educational in so many ways.
Here are just a few areas of development that singing positively impacts:
- Auditory perception (sound awareness)
- Listening skills
- Language and vocabulary development
- Gross motor development through dance, movement and singing action songs
- Fine motor development through reciting finger rhymes
- Creativity and healthy emotional expression
- Concentration
- Rhythm and other musical skills
- Pre-reading skills such as learning about syllables, patterns in words, sounds, etc.
Here are 20 fun animal songs with lyrics.
1. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
This is a fun classic to teach rhyming and introduce verbs. Pair the kids up, or hold your child’s arms and rock back and forth in a rowing motion.
Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
Don’t forget to scream!
Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the river.
If you see a panda bear,
Don’t forget to quiver.
Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently to the shore.
If you see a lion,
Don’t forget to roar!
2. One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Here’s a song to exercise the finger muscles and teach some early maths skills.
One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on my right.
3. Bingo
Get your child to clap to the rhythm of B—-I—-N-G-O to get acquainted with short and long sounds and pauses, and develop an ear for rhythm.
There was a farmer, had a dog,
And Bingo was his name, O.
B-I-N-G-O,
B-I-N-G-O,
B-I-N-G-O,
And Bingo was his name.
4. Incy Wincy Spider
An old favourite, incy wincy spider is a great finger rhyme that works on bilateral integration (coordinating the left and right sides of the body to work together).
Incy, Wincy, Spider,
Climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain,
And washed the spider out.
Out came the sunshine,
And dried up all the rain.
So, incy wincy spider,
Went up the spout again.
5. Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?
This hand-clapping song is good for developing coordination as the children have to follow the clapping pattern and also keep the beat and rhythm of the song.
Assign each child the role of an animal (panda, rabbit, bear, penguin or kangaroo) so you can act it out, or make up your own animals.
You can also use children’s names for this song.
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Panda took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Who, me?
Yes, you!
Not me!
Then who?
Rabbit!
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Rabbit took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Who, me?
Yes, you!
Not me!
Then who?
Bear!
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Bear took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Who, me?
Yes, you!
Not me!
Then who?
Penguin!
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Penguin took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Who, me?
Yes, you!
Not me!
Then who?
Kangaroo!
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Kangaroo took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Who, me?
Yes, you!…
6. Teddy Bears’ Picnic
This is one of the cutest songs and is my daughter’s favourite. It is also rich in vocabulary and rhyming words. See if your kids can hit those high notes!
If you go down to the woods today,
You’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today,
You’d better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was,
Will gather there for certain,
Because today’s the day,
The Teddy Bears have their picnic.
If you go down to the woods today,
You’d better not go alone.
It’s lovely down in the woods today,
But safer to stay at home.
For every bear that ever there was,
Will gather there for certain,
Because today’s the day,
The Teddy Bears have their picnic.
Picnic time for Teddy Bears.
The little Teddy Bears,
Are having a lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And see them picnic on their holiday.
See them gaily gad about,
They love to play and shout,
They never have any cares.
At six o’clock their Mummies and Daddies,
Will take them home to bed,
Because they’re tired little Teddy Bears.
7. Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice.
Three blind mice.
See how they run.
See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer’s wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?
8. Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
Where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short,
And his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where can he be?
Repeat verse
9. One Little Elephant Balancing
This song teaches the concept of numbers and increasing by ‘one more’. It is also a nice movement activity.
One little elephant balancing,
Step by step on a piece of string.
Thought it was such tremendous fun,
That he called for another elephant to come.
Repeat the verses, each time increasing the number by one. End with as many elephants as there are children.
Five grey elephants balancing,
Step by step on a piece of string.
All of a sudden the piece of string broke,
And down came all the elephant folk.
10. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
This is such a fun song to sing and act out with your child and it’s even more fun with a group of children.
This song is rich in vocabulary and teaches positional language such as over and under, through movements.
Click on the link under the lyrics to watch the actions to “We’re going on a bear hunt”.
We’re goin’ on a bear hunt,
We’re going to catch a big one,
I’m not scared.
What a beautiful day!
Oh look! It’s some long, wavy grass!
Can’t go over it,
Can’t go under it,
Can’t go around it,
Got to go through it!
Repeat the verse another three times, but change the 5th line in each verse:
Oh look! It’s a mushroom patch.
Oh look! It’s a wide river.
Uh, oh! It’s dark in here.
I feel something,
It has lots of hair!
It has sharp teeth!
It’s a bear!
Hurry back through the river,
Back through the mushroom patch,
Back through the long grass,
Run in the house and lock the door.
Phew! That was close!
I’m not afraid!
Here is the tune, performed by composer Michael Rosen.
11. Old MacDonald Had a Farm
No list would be complete without Old MacDonald Had a Farm. This classic song can be used to teach animal sounds and is fun to act out and dress up for.
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
And on his farm he had some cows
Ee i ee i oh
With a moo-moo here
And a moo-moo there
Here a moo, there a moo
Everywhere a moo-moo
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
And on his farm he had some chicks
Ee i ee i o
With a cluck-cluck here
And a cluck-cluck there
Here a cluck, there a cluck
Everywhere a cluck-cluck
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
Repeat with as many animals and sounds as you can think of.
12. Hop Little Bunnies
This song might seem a bit young for preschoolers, but when I was teaching, we had even the 5-year-olds gleefully hopping with delight. If you act it out as a group, it is loads of fun and a good way to get the energy out.
See the bunnies sleeping ’til it’s nearly noon
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still
Are they ill?
Wake up, little bunnies!
Hop, little bunnies
Hop, hop, hop
Hop, little bunnies
Hop, hop, hop
Hop, little bunnies
Hop, hop, hop
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop
See the bunnies sleeping ’til it’s nearly noon
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still
Are they ill?
Wake up, little bunnies!
Jump, little bunnies
Jump, jump, jump
Jump, little bunnies
Jump, jump, jump
Jump, little bunnies
Jump, jump, jump
Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump
13. Hickory Dickory Dock (With a Twist)
Sing this old favourite with a twist. Add in your own choice of animals. See if you can get your child to keep going, choosing a new animal each time without repeating the same one.
If you sing this in a group, let each child take a turn saying a verse with a new animal. It’ll make a good listening activity.
Hickory dickory dock. The mouse went up the clock.
The clock struck one. The mouse went down.
Hickory dickory dock.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
A snake
Hickory dickory dock. The snake went up the clock.
The clock struck two. The snake went down.
Hickory dickory dock.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
A squirrel
Hickory dickory dock. The squirrel went up the clock.
The clock struck three. The squirrel went down.
Hickory dickory dock.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
A cat
Hickory dickory dock. The cat went up the clock.
The clock struck four. The cat went down.
Hickory dickory dock.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
14. Mary Had a Little Lamb (With a Twist)
Here is another variation of the previous song, this time to the classic song Mary Had a Little Lamb. Sing the first verse, then teach your kids the new verses. They’ll love it!
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.
Mary had a little lamb, and a big giraffe?!
Mary had a big giraffe, big giraffe, big giraffe.
Mary had a big giraffe whose neck was very long.
Long, long, long, long.
Long, long, long, long.
Very very very long.
And a rhinoceros. Hmmm?
Mary had a rhinoceros, rhinoceros, rhinoceros.
Mary had a rhinoceros whose horn was very sharp.
Sharp, sharp, sharp, sharp.
Sharp, sharp, sharp, sharp.
Very very very sharp.
A kangaroo, too?
Mary had a kangaroo, kangaroo, kangaroo.
Mary had a kangaroo whose pouch was very warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm.
Very very very warm.
And a camel.
Mary had a camel, camel, camel.
Mary had a camel. Whose hump was very round.
Round, round, round, round.
Round, round, round, round.
Very very very round.
Here is the tune by Super Simple Songs.
I hope you enjoyed these animal songs for kids. Looking for more songs?
Here are some:
- Action songs
- Finger plays
- Classic nursery rhymes
- Counting songs
- Ocean songs
- Hand-clapping songs
- Music games
Or find your next idea from this list of preschool themes.
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