10 Best Counting Songs for Children

Singing, songs and rhymes have been a staple in kindergarten, preschool and Montessori for years and have been vouched for their efficiency for generations. Any learning that has fun and play is effective in getting kids involved. A natural way to learn, counting nursery rhymes about numbers is a fun and great way to teach children to count-forward and backwards. Number songs for preschool help children memorise the order of numbers and even say it backwards. With a number of songs, you need not force children to learn numbers. They will automatically be instilled with a quest to learn math through songs and all of this incidentally. The lilt in songs and counting poems helps children learn quickly and also understand the concept of numbers. You could just print the lyrics and pin them up on your wall or the classroom wall to make a great resource.

Popular Counting Songs for Kids

Number songs for toddlers help children learn how to count and the numbers before they start school. For the older ones, counting songs to 100 is a great way to learn the numbers, counting in tens and a lot more. Counting songs are also good for kids to learn the concept of addition and subtraction. Listed below are a ten best counting songs for kids to help them learn counting numbers. Some of them even teach the concept of taking away.

1. Here is the Beehive

Here is the beehive (make a fist)

Where are the bees?

Hiding inside where nobody sees

Watch them come creeping out of the hive

One, two, three, four, five (release one finger at a time from the fist/hive)
…BUZZ-ZZZ (wiggle fingers)

2. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

This song can be sung with a slow start with kids clapping their hands and the pace can go faster as they get familiar with it.

One, two, buckle my shoe.

Three, four shut the door

And five six pick up sticks,

Seven, eight now lay them straight.

Nine, ten a big fat hen, sounds pretty good, let’s do it again singing…

3. One Grey Elephant Balancing

One Grey Elephant Balancing

One grey elephant balancing (with all children sitting in a circle, choose one child to be the first elephant pretending to balance on a string going around and around the inside of the circle)
Step-by-step on a piece of string.

Thought it was such a wonderful stunt.

That he called for another elephant (the first elephant chooses another child to join him)

Two grey elephants balancing.

Step-by-step on a piece of string.

Thought it was such a wonderful stunt.

That they called for another elephant.

Continue until all of the children are balancing on the string

(Number) grey elephants balancing.

Step-by-step on a piece of string.

All of a sudden the piece of string broke.

And down came all the ‘ele-folk’.

4. Ten Little Fingers

Ten little fingers, ten little toes,

Two little ears and one little nose

Two little eyes that shine so bright

And one little mouth to kiss mother goodnight.

5. Ten in a Bed

There were ten in the bed

And the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”

So they all rolled over and one fell out

There were nine in the bed…

There were eight in the bed…

Repeat verses until there are none left in the bed:

There was one in the bed

And the little one said,

“Alone at last!”

6. Five Fat Sausages

Five fat sausages sizzling in a pan

The grease got hot – and one went “BANG”!

Four fat sausages sizzling in a pan

The grease got hot – and one went “BANG”!

Three fat sausages sizzling in a pan

The grease got hot – and one went “BANG”!

Two fat sausages sizzling in a pan

The grease got hot – and one went “BANG”!

One fat sausage sizzling in a pan

The grease got hot – and it went “BANG”!

No fat sausages frying in a pan.

7. One, Two, Three, Four, Five

One, two, three, four, five,

Once I caught a fish alive,

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bite?

This little finger on my right

8. Johnny Works With One Hammer

Johnny works with one hammer (children hammer with one hand)
One hammer one hammer
Johnny works with one hammer,
Johnny works with two.

Johnny works with two hammers (children hammer with two hands)…

Johnny works with three hammers (children hammer with two hands and one leg)…

Johnny works with four hammers (children hammer with both hands and both legs)

Johnny works with five hammers (children hammer with both hands, both legs, and head)
Five hammers five hammers
Johnny works with five hammers
Johnny’s work is DONE!

9. The Ants Go Marching

The ants go marching one by one (hold up one finger)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb (pretend to suck thumb)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching two by two (hold up two fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching two by two,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching two by two,
The little one stops to tie his shoe (pretend to tie shoe)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching three by three (hold up three fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching three by three,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree (pretend to climb a tree)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching four by four (hold up four fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching four by four,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching four by four,
The little one stops to shut the door (pretend to shut a door)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching five by five (hold up five fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching five by five,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching five by five,
The little one stops to take a dive (pretend to dive)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching six by six (hold up six fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching six by six,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching six by six,
The little one stops to pick up sticks (pretend to pick up sticks)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching seven by seven (hold up seven fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching seven by seven,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching seven by seven,
The little one stops to pray to heaven (pretend to pray)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching eight by eight (hold up eight fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching eight by eight,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching eight by eight,
The little one stops to shut the gate (pretend to shut a gate)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching nine by nine (hold up nine fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching nine by nine,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching nine by nine,
The little one stops to check the time (pretend to check wristwatch)
And they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain.

The ants go marching ten by ten (hold up ten fingers)
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching ten by ten,
Hoorah! Hoorah!
The ants go marching ten by ten,
The little one stops to shout

10. Ten Green Bottles

Ten green bottles
Hanging on the wall
Ten green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be nine green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Nine Green Bottles

Hanging on the wall
Nine green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be eight green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Eight green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Eight green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be seven green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Seven green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Seven green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be six green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Six green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Six green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be five green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Five green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Five green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be four green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Four green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Four green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be three green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Three green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Three green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be two green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Two green bottles…

Hanging on the wall
Two green bottles
Hanging on the wall
And if one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be one green bottles
Hanging on the wall

One green bottle
Hanging on the wall
One green bottle
Hanging on the wall
If that one green bottle
Should accidentally fall
There’ll be no green bottles
Hanging on the wall

Most of these songs have interactive videos that will help kids to watch and learn and enjoy counting. If your kid is going to start pre-school or kindergarten this is a great way to give them the confidence to count in school. In fact, these songs are good to sing to toddlers as their brains will absorb the tune and will help them learn faster when they grow up.

Also Read:

Party Songs for Children
Action Songs for Children
Good Morning Songs for Children