These silly (not spooky) Halloween preschool songs are a great way to get your kids excited for fall. Plus, do the learning activities connected to each one to turn a funny song into an engaging educational opportunity!
Happy October! We’re gearing up for the Halloween season as the weather cools down around here, and I’m trying to figure out how to make a Percy the train costume that my two-year-old can actually walk in. Wish me luck!
To capitalize on my boys’ love of Halloween (and holidays in general), our mommy school activities this month are going to have a lot to do with pumpkins, scarecrows, owls, and silly monsters.
Whenever I’m planning a new unit for our home preschool, I try to find some fun songs and music videos to go along with it. Music is a great way to teach kids, especially kids who struggle with language delays. The rhythm and repetition helps kids build vocabulary, improve memory, and develop motor skills from doing actions along with the songs (read more here).
A few months ago, I shared a list of my favorite silly songs for preschoolers. It has since become my most viewed post here on The Many Little Joys, so as I started planning the songs I wanted to use with my boys for our Halloween-themed preschool, I thought I’d share the best ones with you, too.
These Halloween preschool songs are geared toward kids ages 2-5, and as such they are scare-free (although kids of all ages will likely enjoy them).
For each music video, I’m including the activities I’m doing with my own kids to connect the song to other learning skills. Hooray for cross-curricular learning.
I hope you find something you can use with your own little pumpkins. Enjoy!
Halloween preschool songs your kids will love!
1. There Was an Old Woman Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything
My son read this story in preschool last year, and he loved it. We read it over and over again. He especially liked listening to the song (which follows the text of the book pretty closely. This year I’m planning to read this book to him again, and we’ll be making our own pieces of the story so we can build the scarecrow together as we read/sing (download some free printable pieces from Toddler Approved here).
Another fun option is to create sequencing cards like these from The Preschool Toolbox Blog. I also think it would be fun to gather pieces of clothing that we could use to dress up like the scarecrow in the book (there’s nothing quite as fun as clomping around in Daddy’s shoes). So many possibilities with this classic story-turned-song!
2. Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate
This simple little counting song is perfect for acting out. I found some cheap foam pumpkins in the dollar spot at Target that I plan to use for this song (simply line them up and take them away one by one as you sing the song). I also love these cute pipe-cleaner pumpkin finger puppets from Schooltime Snippets. I’m sure my boys will love wiggling the pumpkins around on their fingers while we make funny voices for the different pumpkins in the song. After you’re done singing, you can make this cute craft from Teaching Tiny Tots using popsicle sticks and construction paper.
3. The Skeleton Dance (‘Dem Bones)
I learned all the names for the major bones of the human body in elementary school, and for some reason they’ve stuck in my memory over the years. I love the idea of teaching my boys the names of their bones, too, and I think this funny bone song (ha!) will be a great introduction.
After we watch the video, I plan to talk to them about bones and the scientific names of some of them. I love this demonstration/experiment from A Cuppa for Mama showing what would happen if we didn’t have bones. I also think this “roll-a-skeleton” game from Activity Village would be a fun way to talk about and review the names of some of the bones (“You rolled a femur!”)
4. Who took the candy?
This song is a simple Halloween variation of the classic “Who took the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?” Like most kids, my boys love candy, so I think it will be fun to get a few different candies to put in a bowl or a printable trick-or-treat bag. Then we can play the “What’s missing?” game. Have you played it? One player closes his/her eyes while the other(s) take away an item from the table. Then the first player has to guess which thing is missing. My boys learned this game from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and they’ve loved it ever since.
Another fun candy-related activity that would go well with this song is this candy corn activity pack from This Reading Mama. We did this one last year, and it was a huge hit. If I do it again this year, I’ll have to figure out a way to keep Little Brother from pilfering all the candy.
5. Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
This silly scarecrow video has kids doing movements that my boys can follow along with and learn. They think scarecrows are so funny and point them out whenever we see them in stores, so I’m pretty sure they’ll love this song. I love this scarecrow alphabet patch game from Growing Book by Book. It will be a great extension activity for Little Man to practice alphabet identification and sounds.
6. I Had a Pumpkin Yellow
There is one more song I HAVE to include, because it’s one of my favorites, but I couldn’t find video or audio for it anywhere! I learned it as a little girl, and when I asked my mom where she learned it, she said that it’s a song my dad learned in elementary school.
Has anyone else ever heard of it? Here are the lyrics:
I had a pumpkin yellow.
I gave it two big eyes.
I cut around a tiny nose,
and a great big mouth that smiles.
Now I’ll hide behind a hedge,
wait until it’s dark.
Then, when Daddy comes along…
Out I’ll jump…BOO I’ll shout!
What a surprise!
I hope some of you know it. If not, maybe some day I’ll have to learn how to use YouTube and record it for you all to learn. I don’t relish uploading a video of myself singing, but it’s such a cute song that it would be worth it.
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I love that the songs include a youtube video! Thanks for sharing. Pinning this!
Yes… THANK YOU! That was the “…behind a hedge…boo” Pumpkin Carol I remember we sang in elementary school (1978) ….just Wish I could hear remember the tune. I have been looking for this for several years.
That is for the words and reminiscences about the song I had a pumpkin yellow. I am 67 now, but remember singing that song in first grade. To me, it added so much to the fin we experienced at Halloween.
Yes, we sang the yellow pumpkin
song in WV in 1961! I have been looking for the words for my grands!! What about a duck song? It’s wonderful weather for ducks they say. Rain, rain, rain ,rain so open the windows and let them play.. Just need the rest of the words. Thanks!!!
I’m glad I was able to help you out with the lyrics of the pumpkin song! Sadly, I don’t know the duck song. It sounds like a fun one though!
My sisters and I sang the pumpkin yellow song for many trick-or-treat nights in the sixties. My dad was a music teacher, and always made sure we had a song to offer as our “trick.” I remembered the tune but not all of the words, and found your site when I was searching for them. I’m a singer, and would gladly record it for you, but don’t know how to download it to your site. If anyone can clue me in on that, I would be happy to do it.
My grandma was a 2nd grade school teacher and she taught us 2 Halloween songs, which I am now passing on to my 2 great great nieces.
The first is Halloween Cat
Halloween Cat, Halloween Cat
Why do you mew and mew like that?
Neither I nor the moon
Like that tune.
Scat, Halloween cat.
The other one I call the witch song.
I’m a mean old witch with a hat (put arms together above head like a hat)
I ride on my broom with my cat (act like sitting on a broom and petting a cat)
My nose is pointy and my chin is too (use fingers to pull away from nose than chin)
You better watch out or I’ll get you (point to person singing too)
BOO! (Do like you were scaring someone)
Love this! Sounds like you had a fun Grandma!
My Ma used to sing the yellow pumpkin song to us and she passed in January😥. My sis and I were trying so hard to remember the lyrics and couldn’t find them anywhere. Then this morning I thought I would look one more time AND THERE IT WAS!!! Thank you so much! I know it seems like a small accomplishment but it means the world to us to pass this song on for Ma. Happy Halloween!!
Jeanne, I’m so glad this song was able to help preserve that sweet memory. Much love to you and yours.
Hi Meagan, Yes! I sang that song in grade school and like everyone else, I can’t find it. You are the first person to remember it. There is another one I can’t find that goes like this: ” Beware, take care get out of the way. She makes this wonderful flight. Once a year so people say. On scary Halloween night,” It was about a witch, of course. Great memories!
Oooh, I haven’t heard of the other one you mentioned. It sounds like a fun one, though!