“Kaeru no Uta” or “Frog’s Song” is a Japanese song about a little frog and the sound he makes. I introduced this song to preschoolers when they were learning a bit about Japan and I was impressed by how much they took to this song. Students loved it and even the youngest children join in by making the frog sounds at the end. The song is super simple and so is the Japanese. Don’t shy away from this song because it’s in a foreign language. From my experience, children generally enjoy and get excited about singing in a foreign language. I’m no expert in Japanese, but I’m good with foreign languages and the pronunciation in the video is pretty close. Use it as a guide, and you’ll be just fine.

I’ve also introduced this song to elementary students. What’s fun about singing it with older kids is that it can also be sung as a round, with different groups starting at different times.

All in all, it’s an easy song, it can be learned quickly, and kids love it.

Here are the lyrics:

Kaeru no uta ga,

Kikoete kuru yo,

Gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa

Gero gero gero gero,

Gwa gwa gwa.

And here’s a translation:

The frog’s song,

Come hear it,

Croak, croak, croak, croak,

ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit,

Croak, croak, croak.

Frog in the meadow is a super simple and short song that can be learned in a flash. The kids I taught learned it quickly and got a kick out of it. Since it’s so short and simple, it’s a good song to get kids singing independently.

After I recorded this video, I attended a music education workshop with John Feierabend. He recommended that children choose body parts to “stir” with while singing the song. I think this is a great idea. It would add some more movement and make it fun for the kids- just picture kids stirring their foot or their elbow as they try singing this song 🙂

Here are the words to this one:

Frog in the meadow can’t get him out,

Take a little stick and stir him about.

Try it with your kids and let me know how it went!

This is a traditional lullaby that is easy to sing.

Here are the lyrics:

Sleep, baby sleep,

thy father tends the sheep.

Mother shakes the dreamland tree,

and down fall pleasant dreams for thee.

Sleep, baby sleep.

San Severino is a traditional action song sung in Spanish about the various jobs and careers people have. The two jobs I included in the video are “la tortillera”, the person who makes “tortillas”, and “la lavendera”, the person who washes clothes. The reason I included these is because they are traditional verses that go with the song and because they are traditional jobs one might have latin america.

You could really add any careers or jobs to the list. When one of my Kindergarten classes sang this, I had them each tell me what jobs they wanted to do when they grew up and we included those verses in a performance at their Kindergarten Graduation.

Here are a few that we came up with:

“el policía” the police officer

“el bombero” the fireman

“el cocinero” the chef

“la bailarina” the ballerina/dancer

“el doctor” or “el medico” the doctor

“el artista” the artist

“la maestra” the teacher

“el dentista” the dentist

We had fun making up the verses and accompanying movements together.

Choose a few verses that resonate with you and try this song with your class or your own kids and let me know how it went in the comments section.

Here’s another action song that’s great for the little ones. It’s fun, short, and easy to learn.

Here are the lyrics:

Bling blang, hammer with my hammer,

Zingo zango, cutting with my saw.