The Best Music to Play for Your Preschooler

For a parent, the preschool years are something special. Preschool-age kids are seeing the whole world open up for the first time, and they are starting to understand more and more of what goes on around them. There are certainly some challenges to be overcome during this phase of a young life, but the special moments are more than worth it in the end.

Music is one of the many things that preschoolers will likely start to embrace with open arms. Even if they have enjoyed bobbing their heads along with various songs at a younger age, preschool is often when they’ll start to sing along, dance with intention, and ask for their favorite songs to be played over (and over…and over) again. What is the best music for toddlers? We’ll take a closer look at that question below.

How to Play Music for Preschoolers

Why Present Music to Preschoolers?

There is a lot going on in the mind of a preschooler. Left to their own devices, most three- and four-year-olds would be happy to play away all day, with very little structure or direction. To be sure, some of that kind of play is highly valuable for their development and happiness, but it’s also important to be intentional about introducing some things that will expand their horizons.

Music falls squarely into this structured category. There are many proven benefits associated with introducing children to music at a young age. It’s no coincidence that most cultures around the world interact with their children through music in one form or another. Some of the many advantages of music for young people include the following: 

• Expressing emotions – One of the keys to a healthy, happy childhood—and, indeed, a happy life—is learning how to express emotions properly. Music is all about emotion, and your kids may find themselves tapping into feelings they haven’t been able to present to the world previously when inspired by a song.

• Building motor skills – Dancing should be fun first and foremost, but it’s also an opportunity to build motor skills that will be useful in life moving forward. Not only can dancing involve footwork, but hand movements and gestures are often created for preschool songs to make them even more interactive.

• Language growth – It’s during the preschool years that the vocabulary of most children explodes in volume. Along with learning new words through conversation, songs are another great way to expand the vocabulary of a young person in a way that won’t feel anything at all like work.

Three Elements of a Great Preschool Song

If you pay close attention to the music that is usually played in a preschool setting, you’ll find that the most popular songs usually include some of the same elements—even if the songs themselves are quite different. Those who have spent a lot of time in the Christian church surely recognize these patterns across many of the best Bible songs for kids.

As you pick out some new music for your children to enjoy, look for tunes that include the three elements below.

1. Repetition

This is where the tastes of young people and adults usually diverge. For children, repetition in a song is a great thing—their minds find comfort in the familiar, and it’s easy to remember the lyrics when they repeat over and over. Many adults would prefer a little more variety, but repetitious songs tend to be received quite well by the younger crowd.

2. Engaging Movement

We mentioned this point briefly above, but it needs to be repeated here. Having specific movements that are attached to the lyrics and melodies of a song will go a long way toward having children connect to the music. The examples of successful preschool songs that fit this description are many, including “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.”

3. Educational Content

Often, we think of educational material as something that we have to sneak in when our kids aren’t paying attention. Nothing could be further from the truth! Kids naturally love to learn, they just want to do it in a way that isn’t boring or stale. When songs are educational and the kids learn something as they sing and dance along, it only enhances the experience.

Explore Some of the Classics

The modern world is ripe for musical exploration. It’s never been easier to discover songs, and most people have an entire catalog of music in their pockets at any given time. If you simply open up your favorite music app and type in “preschool songs,” you’ll instantly have more options than you know what to do with.

That abundant selection can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s great to have options, but it’s hard to sort through them and find a place to start. With that in mind, zooming in on some of the proven classics in this space is a great strategy. The list below provides plenty of ideas that you’ve probably heard of before:

• Wheels on the Bus

• Itsy Bitsy Spider

• Old MacDonald Had a Farm

• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

• Row, Row, Row Your Boat

• Humpty Dumpty

• The Hokey Pokey

• I’m a Little Teapot

• Mary Had a Little Lamb

• Five Little Monkeys

We have to take a moment here to discuss our most popular album, “Party Like a Preschooler,” as we believe it is a fun and original take on many of the classic songs for this age group, including some of those listed above. If you like the lyrics and rhythms of those classic songs but would be interested in an updated take on how they are performed, we hope you will like what we’ve created.

Let Your Child Lead the Way

It’s all too easy to lump kids into categories, such as “preschoolers.” Sure, kids in a preschool class are going to share a common age, but they are still individual humans with their own personalities, tastes, and preferences. That means we shouldn’t assume that they are all going to like the same things.

With regard to music, allow your child to lead the way and take their feedback into account when picking new songs to play. Perhaps you find that there are some kids’ Bible songs that they happen to love, while there are a few other Christian songs for kids that don’t seem to get much of a response. That’s fine; lean into what they love, and it’s likely that they naturally broaden their horizons with age and experience.

How Can Go Fish Serve You?

So, what music should three-year-olds listen to? In the end, it’s simple—they should listen to the music that they enjoy. Like people of any other age, preschoolers want to get enjoyment out of their music, even if they don’t know how to express that desire just yet. At Go Fish, we take great pride in producing quality music that the whole family can listen to together. Whether you want kids Christian music, secular tunes, or a little bit of both, we are here to help. Take a moment today to listen to some of our songs on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, and anywhere else you can find us. We think you’ll love what you hear!