There were about 175 preschoolers! So, I got the teachers very involved and they would bring the class up on stage, they would stand in front, mouth song lyrics and help kids with the gestures while I was taking care of other things on stage. Also on concert day, I generally needed the teachers to work with me to have the songs go well. I often saw my students only one time a week, so I needed to get teacher approval and help in order to make it successful. Get teacher buy-in: the songs often need to be reinforced during non-musical times. Some of the kids have gestures that are really little, and some of the kids have gestures that are really, really big and I like that individuality is part of a school program or presentation. Songs that work well with props and/or gestures or choreography: This adds to the presentation and it just makes it cuter and sweeter! It also makes it more fun for the kids too because they get the opportunity to show their personality. It's not just about getting lost in the lyrics, it's about getting lost in the actual song form ( you'll get greater participation in the moment with nerves and distractions - they won't get lost!) The more repetitive the song is, the less likely they will get lost in the song form. Choose simple lyrics.Ĭhoose songs that are repetitive: Not just lyrically, but also musically because in the moment, all of the chaos of the time of the performance where they have a lot of distractions, some of them are having nerves or anxiety.

Especially the older the were, the more they cared about how cool the song was.Ĭhoose songs that are easy for kids to sing: Avoid too much syncopation and large melodic leaps.

There are four specific elements we need to take into consideration when choosing the songs for a successful pre-k or kindergarten presentation:Ĭhoose songs that the kids like: The music has to be really dialed in and they also had to like it. What I’m going to share with you here are just a compilation of some ideas and lessons I learned along the way and at the end of this post, I will be sharing one of my favorite children’s songs I’ve used for a preschool graduation that will also work for a preschool or kindergarten end of the year slideshow.

Do you and your students put together a Spring program or an end-of-the-year concert or presentation? I’m definitely not an expert, but in working with preschool and kindergarten students, I’ve learned a thing or two about putting together pre-k and kindergarten end of year programs and presentations.

Kindergarten graduation songs to sing