Toddler group songs Archives - Let their light shine!

The Philippian Jailer

The Philippian Jailer Bible story is found in Acts 16:25-34. Paul and Silas are in prison at midnight at the beginning of our story. By the end they are having a meal with the jailer and his family.

For young children a few details have been ommitted or simplified.

The Philippian Jailer Bible story idea

In the story bag – dolls/puppets representing Paul, Silas, the jailer, some play food. Take the items from the bag as you need them. You can add some movement in the story too.This is indicated in the text below.

Telling the story

‘Say hello to Paul and Silas. They had had a very tough day. People in the town of Phillipi weren’t happy with them talking about Jesus. They had been locked up in prison! It wasn’t very nice at all. It wasn’t clean and tidy and it definitely wasn’t comfortable.

What could they do? They might have decided to moan and groan. They might have decided to be really angry and upset. But they didn’t do any of those things.

In the middle of the night, they were praying to God and singing.

I think they were singing quite loudly because the Bible tells us that all the other people in the prison could hear them!

Suddenly the ground began to shake and shudder! (you could all shake and shudder here).The prison walls moved! The prison doors opened! Everyone’s chains fell off!

The man in charge of the jail was frightened. He would be in big trouble if Paul and Silas escaped. But they didn’t. Paul called out,’ Don’t worry, we are still here’.

The jailer ran into the room, he was shaking with fear, ‘What do I need to do to be saved?’ he asked Paul.

What would Paul say? He told the jailer about the Lord Jesus, the only one who can save. And the jailer believed.

The jailer took Paul and Silas into his home and he and his family looked after them and they had some yummy food to eat.

The next day Paul and Silas were set free and the leaders who had hurt them and locked them up said sorry.

This was the beginning of the church in the town of Phillipi.’

For another story about the new church in Philippi have a look at Lydia hears about Jesus

Play Ideas

Make a music area for the children to explore

Make musical instruments using yogurt pots, uncooked rice and paper lids secured with tape. Decorate the pots with stickers.

Song ideas

Paul and Silas were singing praises to God in prison – here are some songs you could sing with the children

From my head down to my toes God loves me

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands

My God is so great so strong and so mighty

Paul and Silas in Jail craft

Paul and Silas collage showing them singing in Philippian Jail

Scroll down for the printable downloads you need for the above craft. Cut out the pieces you need and provide an A4 piece of sugar paper for the background. You also need crayons and glue.

Bible Men (3 up)Download

Prison bars (6 up)Download

Singing (Musical notes) (6 up)Download

Songs and rhymes for toddlers!

Singing songs and saying rhymes with toddlers is a great way of helping young children learn. They are fun and interactive. Most toddler groups have a song time using well known favourites. Repetition is good! Here’s a handy list of song and rhyme ideas that are great for toddlers.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Old MacDonald
Zoom, zoom, zoom we’re going to the moon
I’m a little teapot
Miss Polly had a dolly
Open shut them, open shut them make your hands go clap
The grand old Duke of York
Tommy thumb
Wind the bobbin up
Row, row, row your boat
Jelly on a plate
Horsey, horsey don’t you stop
1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish alive
Humpty Dumpty
I hear thunder
If you’re happy and you know it
Incy wincy spider
Here we go round the mulberry bush
5 little ducks
5 little speckles frogs
Rock a bye baby
Round and round the garden
The Wheels on the bus
Two little dickie birds
5 little peas in a pea pod pressed

Singing with toddlers often means having actions to fit the words. There can be marching, wobbling jelly, pointing to the parts of the body, pretending to be stars or spiders, counting on fingers, hiding hands behind your back, clapping, stamping – so many!

Some songs are great for adults to sing with their child sat on their knee – Round and Round the Garden, Rock a Bye Baby, Horsey, Horsey don’t you stop, Row, Row, Row your Boat and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom we’re going to the Moon.

Songs and rhymes encourage language development – there’s lots of vocabulary used in a fun and easy to remember way.

You don’t need to worry too much about being the best singer – you don’t need to be able to play the guitar (and although you might want to I think doing the actions to the songs is maybe better as children can copy you and join in).

Mix up songs that are lively and those that are quiet.

Sing a song once at normal speed and then repeat going faster. This works well for, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and The Grand old Duke of York.

Include said rhymes. Mix them in among the songs.

If you have a Story Time include a song that fits your story if you can.

Repeat favourites.

Use props from time to time – an Old MacDonald puppet with toy animals, a Humpty Dumpty! Use items that suit your style and group.

A humpty dumpty knitted toy for encouraging singing with toddlers — Humpty Dumpty

Sign up to the World Nursery Rhyme Week for ideas and free colouring sheets and activity ideas. Everyone’s welcome – parents, grandparents, carers, toddler groups, kindergartens, nurseries, preschool settings.. and it’s a great way to learn more about the importance and value of singing with toddlers!

Here’s a song to make – all about animals and birds and the sounds they make – to a well known tune.

Care for the Family produce a resource for parents called Smalltalk. Every issue of Smalltalk covers a different topic from Potty Training to Creating a Family Budget. Here’s a link to the issue about Singing with Children that you could make available at your Toddler Group. Here’s a link to the list of all the Smalltalk issues – they are so good!

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book to share with toddlers; a great way to teach children about how wonderfully made they are.

We used our ‘Thank you God’ book over several weeks at toddler group. Each week we had an activity to tie in with the theme and sang songs that were connected.

Make a ‘Thank you God’ book

The pages to make your own book are below for you to download and print. The photos on each page are all loyalty free. (Please don’t remove the attribute that is on each photo). You can tie the pages together with string – make two holes in each page in roughly the same place and tie together. Or you could make a large folder and stick the title page to the outside. Each week take out the page that you are using.

Using your ‘Thank you God’ book

At toddler group we began our story time with our welcome song and then talked through the page of the ‘Thank you God’ book that we were using that week. There’s no need to recap on previous weeks – you want to keep the story time short. The children and adults were encouraged to join in – for example clapping when it was in the book. We added extra ideas too. The book is a starting point; add activities that suit your group.

For each week I’ve listed some song ideas. Every week read the Bible verse together (you don’t have to read out the reference but you can say that these words are from God’s Book, the Bible.)

The following are the files for you to download and print

Thank-God-Title-pages with Bible verse-A4 Download

Thank-God-Nose-A4 Download

Thank-God-Mouth-A4 Download

Thank-God-Hands-A4 Download

Thank-God-Eyes-A4 Download

Thank-God-Ears-A4 Download

Thank-God-Feet-A4 Download

Songs to sing with the ‘Thank you God’ book

There are lots of songs that will fit in with this theme. Here are some ideas.

Songs/Rhymes to use any week

Head, shoulders knees and toes
From my head down to my toes God loves me
I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my toes
The Hokey Cokey (if you are a large group don’t get in a circle – wave arms up in the air for ‘oh the hokey cokey’)

Songs about feet

The Grand old Duke of York
Walking through the jungle
Sleeping bunnies (jumping/hopping at the end of the song)

Songs about hands

Open shut them, open shut them
If you’re happy and you know it (can use for feet too)
Round and round the garden (a rhymes using hands – for adults to do with their child)
Miss Polly had a dolly (knocking on the door with our hands)
Tommy Thumb (a song using our hands)
We all clap hands together

Songs about ears

I hear thunder
Old MacDonald (all the sounds the animals make)
Oh we can play on the big brass drum

Songs about mouths

Jelly on a plate (for eating)
All songs – we use our mouths for singing!
The wheels on the bus – the verses the Daddies on the bus go ‘Shush’, the babies on the bus go ‘wah, wah, wah’ and the mummies on the bus go ‘chatter, chatter, chatter’.

Songs about eyes

I see blue sky (second verse of ‘I hear thunder’)
Sleeping bunnies (we close our eyes to sleep)

Songs about noses

I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes

A really great book for songs and rhymes is ‘This Little Puffin’ compiled by Elizabeth Matterson. First published in 1969 it’s been updated. Well worth buying if you work with under fives. I’ve had my copy for over thirty years (might be time to buy the updated edition!) – Affiliate link – if you click on the above link and make a purchase this blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

Craft/Activity Ideas to go with the ‘Thank you God’ book

Feet – decorate foot prints

Thank-you-God-for-my-FEET-1 Download

Hands – make hand prints with paint. Do finger painting. Play with dough. Build with bricks.

a girl sitting at a table with green paint on her palm — Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

Ears – put together a sound/listening table with musical instruments, scrunchie paper, rain sticks.

Mouths – decorate biscuits (check for allergies first). Make smiley faces using paper plates.

Eyes – have a ‘looking table’ with large magnifyers and leaves, pine cones, flowers for children to take a closer look at. We used this idea for Autumn too.

Noses – make scented pictures. Beforehand use some inexpensive perfume to spray collage materials. Allow to dry. At toddler group let the children create scented pictures using the now scented collage materials. Here’s a similar idea. Scented flower pictures.