Imaginative Fall Songs for Preschoolers

Fall songs for preschoolers that are imaginative and not “more cute fall songs” that are focused on leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows, squirrels, or an apple tree.

Imaginative music is music you can use alongside other autumn songs to spark kids’ creativity. Use these songs with story books, puppets, crafts, and other toys. Create actions and movement as you play the music. Your preschoolers will love this!

Use your imagination

Sometimes we can get into a rut of spoon feeding everything to children. So I strive to help kids develop their creativity and use their imaginations. It’s kind of obvious that fall is about falling leaves, orange pumpkins, grey squirrels, apple songs, and singing a little scarecrow song. So instead of singing these cutesy songs, let’s create music and listen to music that gets us to use our imaginations and think “about” these ideas.

Let’s find music that get us to imagine a train ride in the fall countryside, or a river flowing along a mountain, or climbing up on a big boulder. Can you see the leaves change color? Brown. Yellow. Red. The seasons are around us as we adventure outside!

The songs below will help you put a fresh spin and enrich your fall activities. In addition, I will link to quality books and other crafts that I find for fun learning extensions, that you can use with these songs.

Preschoolers learn as they play, sing, read, dance, ceate, imagine, and more. See how many activities you can create with this autumn music! Leave me a comment below if you are glad you found this blog post and it helped you!

Create opportunities to move and dance

Music can change the atmosphere in your home. Music can bring more joy into your everyday. Play music in the morning when your own kids are waking up and see what a difference it makes to the beginning of the day. Sometimes when I look for songs for kids, I find that the music is really almost more “songs for parents” because it really uplifts their energy and mood, too!

Moving to music in the morning is especially appealing to young children and playing great music also provides more benefits for kids than you can imagine.

Preschool teachers and daycare providers can play these songs in the background, or use one during circle time or craft time.

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Autumn Tree Songs

I Had a Little Nut Tree

Instead of singing an apple tree song, try this little nut tree by Lisa Loeb. You can bring a little squirrel into the picture by imagining a squirrel busily looking for, finding, and picking up acorns to stash in winter hideaways. How many little acorns can he find? Wonderful circle time song!

Autumn Songs Tree Activities

This fall scavenger hunt by Teaching Mama is a wonderful resource to go outside and find some autumn leaves, nut trees, and other pieces of autumn nature!

Here is a counting with acorns activity by Play and Learn Every Day.

Fall Leaves In and Out Activity by Still Playing School is a wonderful activity that shouldn’t require that you purchase anything at all. Re-use a diaper wipe container and collect pretty leaves. Great for preschool education on a budget!

Fall Leaves Quiet Book Page by Teach Me Mommy uses felt, pipe cleaners, scissors and glue. This is a nice craft for developing fine motor skills.

A thankful tree printable by Teaching Mama is also wonderful to extend fall into the thanksgiving season.

Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush

So a bush isn’t exactly a tree, but they can grow very big and some bushes have amazing fall colors! Of course this music is great for movement and you can imagine a different kind of bush, like a burning bush whose leaves turn bright orange, yellow red and brown in the fall.

Leaf Little Leaf

Leaf Little Leaf is by Music Box Kids. I love to use a scarf with this music. I really believe kids learn best with motion, so taking a scarf, lifting it high, and letting it drop to the ground shows children how leaves are falling down.

Thankful Songs for Fall

Thanks Alot

Raffi does such an amazing job weaving the imagery of the outdoors into his music. He sings about the clouds, sky, wind, birds, moon, stars, and more. While there are many challenges in life, there is always so many things to be thankful for. “Thanks Alot” pairs well with the thankful tree printable mentioned above.

Thanksgiving Song

Autumn Dance Songs

Music and movement are so important for kids’ development. Here are some great ideas for fall!

Hey Bo Diddley

by Elizabeth Mitchell

Hey Bo Diddley is based on the tune and lyrics from the “Mockingbird” lullaby. This music just puts you into a good mood! Be sure to put some shakers into your kids hands as they move to the beat!

Jumping Jack

by Laurie Berkner

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Extra motions in this version of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes by The Learning Station will literally keep kids on their toes! Make sure to practice the beginning part… knocking on a door, come in, open the door, and take a big spin, slap your heels and slap your knees. This song will especially appeal to preschool kids who love a movement challenge!

Parents and teachers can turn this into a fall song by becoming a scarecrow or dressing up like a farmer who is harvesting his field of pumpkins!

My Happy Song

by Super Simple Songs

Action Songs for Fall

Action songs for toddlers and preschoolers. Children pretend to fly, climb, become animals, and so much more.

Muscle and Bone

Wonderfully imaginative lyrics about rivers, mountains, boulders, etc.

Simon Says

Hop, Skip, Jump to My Lou

I Dreamed that I Could Fly

Autumn Animal and Insect Songs

Fall is a wonderful time to teach about life cycles. Insects move slower and kids may notice little fuzzy caterpillars looking for a place to build a cocoon. This life cycle page by Preschool Inspirations has printables that you may find useful.

Five Little Caterpillars

Five little…. basically anything you want to sing about. I love to think of little fuzzy caterpillars for this fall song. This is definitely one of many fun kids counting songs!

Bunny Hop

Why should we only sing the “Grey Squirrel Song” in the fall while other animals are busy preparing for winter as well? Many animals get ready for their long winter hibernation. Bunny hops around preparing his nest for winter! Get ready to wiggle your ears, nose, paws, and little cotton tail!

Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta-Boo

Filled with zany nonsensical lyrics, let’s take a field trip to the zoo this fall. While I am sure this song won’t make it into anyone else’s autumn songs list, I hope you see the value of music that can spark the imagination of a child!

Autumn Forest Puppets

Music and Movement Song for Fall

Play Your Instruments

Play Your Instruments by Ella Jenkins is a song I sing at every single early childhood class I teach. It’s one of my fall songs, winter songs, spring songs, and summer songs. You can definitely have more autumny vibes by making some of your own homemade instruments like paper bag maracas or percussion instruments that have fall colors (make sure anything you make is safe and age appropriate for your child).

Clickety Clack

Train Song by Katherine Dines in like a story. The train goes faster and slower! You can imagine watching all the autumn leaves out the window. I don’t know about you, but hearing the banjo playing just puts me in the mood for a fall barn dance.

I’m on a Train

Cocomelon is a wonderful child-friendly youtube channel. “I’m on a Train” music video demonstrates so much of the teaching I like to do with kids. They take the melody and lyrics from a familiar song (Down By the Bay) and re-purpose the song into something new… a train song! Plus, the video shows how you can take a cardboard box and turn it into a train. Brilliant!

Everyone knows that there can be hundreds of dollars of toys in a room and kids will always gravitate to the empty box.. everytime! It time to take a train ride while the autumn leaves are falling to the ground!

More Ideas and Activities for Fall

Autumn Songs Sensory Ideas

This fall sensory bottle by Preschool Inspirations is fun for preschool children to make. Sensory bottles help kids focus and keep their fingers busy when their bodies need to sit still.

Fall Nature I Spy Bottle by MamaPapaBubba gives kids a chance to collect actual autumn nature items and put it into their “I Spy” bottle. This is a great activity that can even be adapted to different seasons.

Fall Fine Motor Play-Dough Ideas

This fall play-doh activity by Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails is sure to keep little fingers for a ling time. Like the I Spy bottle above, this play-doh activity can easily be adapted to different holidays and seasons.

Hot Cross Buns Play-Doh Activity is fine motor activity that I created to help preschoolers wiggle fingers and develop five fingers strength for beginning piano lessons. There is a free pdf download in the link.

Autumn Songs Train Ideas

This alphabet activity with train tracks from Teaching Mama is a wonderful extension for your fall train ride.

Food Preschool Fall Songs

Oats and Beans and Barley Grow

Let the Autumn harvest begin!

Mashed Potatoes

Autumn evokes the thoughts of cooler weather, leaves falling, and warmer comfort foods. One of the iconic stables of the Thanksgiving meal is mashed potatoes.

Apples and Bananas

I guess you had to figure I would get one apple song in this list! Apples and Bananas by Raffi is one of my favorites and is a great introduction to talking about vowels. Here is a link to many different apples and bananas worksheets at Teachers Pay Teachers. And here is an apples and bananas count page offered by Super Simple.

Coconut

Coconut by Raffi is a really spirited “dance with me” song. I told my husband it is a stretch including it in my autumn song list because living in the northern parts of the USA, we don’t have coconut harvests. But I am thinking coconuts are harvested in other parts of the world, and my husband reminded me… sometimes coconuts “fall!”

Coconut Books to use with Autumn Songs

15 autumn songs for preschoolers — 15 Printable Autumn Songs for Preschoolers with teaching tips and great ideas to get the most from singing these songs!

If you are interested in the apple and pumpkin songs, check out my blog post Autumn Songs for Preschoolers. I have a FREE PDF Download with 15 songs and lots of teaching tips and ideas to get the most from singing these songs with preschoolers.
Songs include:
Autumn Leaves are Falling Down
Falling Leaves
Autumn Leaves
Leaves are Falling Down
Crunchy Leaves
The Apple Tree Song
10 Little Spiders
Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Apple Pie Song
Five Little Pumpkins
Pumpkin Patch Song
A Little Pumpkin with a Frown
The Grey Squirrel Song
Five Little Bunnies

Conclusion

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know if you liked my fall songs collection that inspire kids to use their imaginations. I hope you find this blog post thoughtful and useful!

Hi, Music Time Kids!

Happy Pinning!