Classic Songs to Sing with your Toddler (with non-annoying videos)
I like to think that I have an arsenal of songs to sing with my kids. I pull them out when they are tired of being in the car, when we are waiting in line, any time where their patience is running thin and I want to keep the mood light. Of course, they are fun to sing any old time, and N age 2.5 even puts in requests.
Because I’m an expat, I love to sing classic songs, particularly ones that have American roots or ties. I also don’t like cartoons or crazy, synthesized music for children’s songs, so I have found simple videos of real people singing in real time. Here are some of our current favorites.
Yankee Doodle
I bought a book with American folk songs and found out that Yankee Doodle has more than one verse. It didn’t take too long to commit them to memory, and it makes the fun last longer. The video has even more verses for me to learn!
Polly Wolly Doodle
There are several verses to this one too, although I’ve only managed to learn two.
Miss Mary Mack
I remember singing this one as a jump-rope rhyme when I was in elementary school. G age 15 months likes to clap along to it.
She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain
It is super easy to learn multiple verses to this song because it’s very repetitive.
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
One of my favorites. I think the tune is super fun, and N loves trains, so it’s a great fit.
And Two More Recent Tunes
Just for fun, I have to throw in our two favorite Raffi songs. I think they qualify as ‘modern classics’, don’t you?
Down by the Banks
Willaby Walloby Woo (An Elephant Sat on You)
I hope you have lots of fun incorporating these classic songs into your parenting repertoire! What songs do you like to sing with your kids?
