Need a perfect solution to help children with a musical brain break to get their energy or wiggles out? These are my tried and true best movement and action songs for children! In fact, we love them so much we think they’re some of the all-time best songs for kids.
Do you need the perfect song to keep the children entertained for circle time? Or perhaps you have a toddler or preschooler who just needs movement music to cure a grumpy day. I have used many of these action songs for preschool during circle time, transitions, family dance nights, bad weather days, indoor recess, and for those desperate moments when nothing else is working.
From classic movement songs to ones that teach regulation, we’ve got you covered:
- Movement and Action Songs that Use Large Motor Movements
- Action Songs that Help Children Listen and Follow Directions
- Calm Movement Songs
Have the perfect song at your fingertips whenever you need it! Grab our free printable below of some of the best kids’ songs.
Movement and Action Songs that Use Large Motor Movements
It’s time to stand up and get moving. These songs will have you walking around or touching your head and toes. They are perfect to signal circle time or when you need a reset because the children are all a bit stir crazy. Large motor movement increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain, helping activate attention, memory, and self-regulation.
Get the best learning activities for 3-5 year olds at your fingertips
Tony Chestnut by The Learning Station
This song is one of the absolute best! You will literally be touching your toes, knees, chest, and head (in that order). I like to teach the motions before we start playing it because it speeds up. That extra practice makes it much easier for the quick parts. Anytime we do it for the first time in a long time, I can feeeel it the next day!
P.S. I did this song for a year or two without realizing the awesome motions! But it’s so much better with them!
We are the Dinosaurs by The Laurie Berkner Band
Did you know that Laurie Berkner used to be a preschool music teacher? Well, she’s fantastic, and I just learned that awesome fact from her album called Superhero. You can find this song as one of the bonus songs on that album!
Get stomping around with this super fun song kid action song! The children will love it, and it’s perfect for a dinosaur theme! If you have Amazon Prime, you can stream it for free! My favorite way to stream is through our Echo Dot.
The Wiggle Dance by Danny Go
This wiggle dance is a hit! Plus, it’s easy to learn. You’ll be wiggling up high and down low. I even love that he incorporates “tiny wiggles” with your pinky, eyebrows, and lips.
Shake Your Sillies Out by the Learning Station
The simple movement song is quick, engaging, and gets lots of actions going. This is always a favorite for circle times. It’s one that is fun to sing to but easy enough lead on your own if you don’t have music around.
The Airplane Song by The Laurie Berkner Band
“Get in your airplane and off we go.” Not only is this a great movement song for preschoolers, but it is also a perfect rhyming song too. Leave some room for flying and jumping around! This is also another great song you can stream for free through an Echo Dot.
Need the perfect song at your fingertips? We made it easy for you with posters, cards, and song sticks that you can print from your own printer! Check them out in our store.
Action Songs that Help Children Listen and Follow Directions
Time to get listening ears on! Here are the action songs for kids that involve following directions. Following movements, copying actions, and responding to musical cues strengthen the connection between listening and doing. This supports motor planning and executive functioning, which young children need extra support with.
A Root Chy Cha by The Learning Station
If you have not heard A Root Chy Cha, it is so catchy! This is an OG kids movement song. Not only does it help children work on following directions, but it also helps them use their memory and ability to sequence! It’s a must have for preschool and kindergarten classrooms.
Penguin Song by Jack Hartmann
This is another great kids dance song to work on following directions! Before starting it, point out the right and left sides of your body. My kids ask to do this action song over and over again. You’ll see why!
Going On a Bear Hunt by Greg and Steve
This hit from Greg and Steve is the most requested children’s song that I have ever had in my preschool classes. Even though it’s a bit longer, it’s so engaging, so the children love it! Greg and Steve have some of our all-time favorite songs. We can’t get enough of the Kids In Motion and Kids in Action CDs! We also adore the book!
Go Bananas by The Learning Station
This is my “go-to” movement song for transition time. It’s perfect when children are standing in line and need something to do with their hands and bodies. Or it’s a quick song that keeps everyone in one spot.
Hot Potato by Patty Shukla
Turn this song on for your next game of hot potato! We love using bean bags, but the great part is that you can use just about anything. For young children, I use this song strictly as a listening game and no one goes out. They just get to be the person who has it when Patty says “stop.” Or you could have that person go in the middle and rotate them out.
Calm Movement Songs
These action songs are the best transitions! They get children moving but the end of the song has a gradual winding down. If you need a transition from song time to story time or lesson time, these are perfect.
Tiny Tim by Ms. Rachel
This action song is one of the sweetest for preschoolers and toddlers. Kids love making the little turtles with their hands and doing all of the silly motions. It’s also one that’s easy to lead on your own without music on.
Walk Around by Music With Nancy
Have everyone grab hands to form a circle for this delightful song by one of my favorite artists, Nancy Kopman! I like that this is a gentler song that gets kids moving. Nancy is also a seasoned educator who taught kindergarten.
Baby Shark by The Learning Station
This is such a great one! I think this is best towards the end of the music and movement time. I had everyone sit down to it, and you may need to plan to do it more than once!
Hop Little Bunnies by The Tiny Boppers
In this preschool movement song, the sweet little bunnies start sleeping and then do some hopping, jumping, and skipping. Any sleeping song is a favorite in my book because kids love to pretend to sleep during songs. This one is perfect because it is gentle and soothing.
Open Shut Them by Music With Nancy
This is the perfect song to transition children from moving to being quiet and listening. It’s great at meal times, circle times, transition times, and anything else you can think of!
For many children, especially young learners, movement is the doorway to focus, engagement, and meaningful learning. We have a TON of other favorite songs that are sure to be a hit with your kids, including more movement and action songs that are perfect for brain breaks! Check them out below:
Music and Movement Songs
Educational Songs
- Songs that Teach
- Rhyming Songs for Kids
- ABC and Alphabet Songs
- Days of the Week Songs
- The Ultimate Guide to Preschool Songs
- Rainbow Songs for Kids
- Clean Up Songs
- Color Songs
Start and End your Day with Music!
Circle Time Songs
Seasonal Songs
- Pumpkin and Halloween Songs for Kids
- Thanksgiving Songs for Kids
- Christmas Songs for Kids
- Winter Songs for Kids
How to Stream Music in the Classroom or at Home
If you want to get songs without the ads from YouTube, there are a couple simple solutions. You can click the songs directly from this post, and it should take away most of the ads. Screen it first to make sure it works for your needs.
If you are using just audio, I have Amazon Music Unlimited which isn’t free but well worth it for me because we use it each day between the classroom and home. If you download more than 10 songs a month, it’s worth its weight in gold! It’s compatible with your phone, electronic devices, Alexa, and computer. What’s great is that I can download the songs while I’m home on my phone using wifi with the Amazon Music app. Then the songs are always there on my phone, and I can play them in the classroom, the car, or anywhere else.
There is also a 2 million song music library with Amazon Prime. That’s how I started, but then I eventually switched to Amazon Music Unlimited because it has nearly every song.
Here are my favorite movement and action songs. Learning these songs is one of the best things I ever did!
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These are great Katie. I will definately be using them with my preschool class in the New Year. Thanks for posting 🙂
Mother goose club has a version of the open shut them song.
Anything by Dr. Jean is fun too!
Yes, we love Dr. Jean!
What is the membership fee for the VIP Subscriber Library?
Hi Jane,
It’s completely free! If you have trouble getting in, just email us at hello@preschoolinspirations.com :).
Warmly,
Katie