20 TPR Songs for Preschoolers: Action Songs for Ages 3–5

Preschoolers are the best TPR students on earth. At three, four, and five, children can follow multi-step instructions, love speed changes, and enjoy games with rules — which means TPR (Total Physical Response) stops being "point to your nose" and becomes theater, sport, and comedy at once.

Here are 20 action songs that work beautifully for ages 3–5, organized by the job each one does. Many have ideal slowed-down Super Simple versions — our 27 TPR songs for toddlers list covers the easiest tier; this list is the next level up.

High-energy burners (start the session here)

Use these when the room is electric and you need the energy pointed somewhere.

1. Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes — full speed — toddlers do the slow version; preschoolers demand the fast one. Try getting faster each round. 🖨 Print flashcards

2. Walking Walking — walk, run, hop, stop. The "stop" is the lesson: listening for the freeze.

3. We All Fall Down — walking in pairs, then falling together. Practicing falling safely is a feature.

4. Freeze songs (any "dance and freeze") — the freeze rule trains listening better than any worksheet.

5. Jump! (or any jump-counting song) — counting plus jumping until everyone is puffed.

6. The Hokey Pokey — left/right, in/out, whole self. A coordination milestone song.

Vocabulary builders (the middle of the session)

These teach a specific word set through actions.

7. Follow Me — the purest TPR: leader moves, everyone copies. Let children take turns leading.

8. Simon Says — the rules upgrade for preschoolers; wrong moves are the fun.

9. If You're Happy And You Know It — extended verses — add "stomp your feet, turn around, wiggle your fingers" and let children invent verses.

10. Wag Your Tail — animal actions (wag, flap, stretch) with a silly streak.

11. I Have A Pet — pet actions and sounds; pairs with toy animals. 🖨 Print flashcards

12. This Is the Way (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush) — mime daily routines: brush teeth, wash face, comb hair.

13. Five Little Monkeys — counting down while jumping; the "no more monkeys" ending teaches consequences with a grin.

14. Ten In the Bed — roll-over chain — each child rolls at their number.

15. The Wheels On The Bus — with seats assigned — everyone gets a verse to act: wipers, horn, babies, driver. 🖨 Print flashcards

Calm-down closers (end the session here)

16. Open, Shut Them — the classic quiet-down song; finish with hands in laps.

17. Stretch up high / reaching rhymes — slow reaching and breathing; children copy at quarter speed.

18. Row, Row, Row Your Boat — seated pairs — rowing together gently; the rocking itself is calming.

19. Twinkle Twinkle — with hand stars — slow fingers opening and closing.

20. Sweet Dreams (Goodnight Song) — for the last minutes of the day; "goodnight" to everything in the room.

A session shape that works (home or classroom)

Keep the same core songs for a week, then swap one. Printable action cards make the "learn" phase tangible — grab the free TPR action cards or generate cards for any song on this list.

Age-wise, this set fits our 4–5 years listening plans — and if you want the sequencing done automatically around your child or class, the planner builds it in under a minute.

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