Today we’re going to sing ‘Let Everyone Clap Hands Like Me’. This is a favourite of ours to sing in the car – I’m interested to see what else the kids come up with when we give it a bit more attention.

If your kids don’t already know this song then you’ll be able to practise turn-taking as you sing the song and they join in with the sound/action you suggest. They can then take turns in suggesting what the action should be for the next verse (even if they aren’t quite ready to sing the whole thing).

The lyrics go like this:

Let everyone clap hands like me (clap, clap),
Let everyone clap hands like me (clap, clap),
Come on and join in with the game,
You’ll find that it’s always the same (clap, clap).

Further verses can include ideas like, ‘Let everyone sneeze like me (at-choo)’, ‘Let everyone laugh like me (hee, hee)’…

You can find various versions of this on YouTube; today I’m enjoying hearing the legendary Pete Seeger at work:

A few more ideas to explore:

‘Let everyone whistle like me (woo, woo)’ – young children will struggle with whistling but it’s really fun for them to try – they will be so excited the first time they make an actual whistle sound, and some of their alternatives to whistling are pretty cute!

Sharpen up their listening skills – try changing the verses without warning – do the kids still do the sound/action you sing? How about if you cue just one of the kids, ‘Let Emily clap hands like me,’ – who responds?

Working on beat, rhythm and the vestibular system – ‘Let everyone rock like me (rock, rock). Do a slow rock from foot to foot in time with the music, then a quick rock, rock at the end of lines 1, 2 and 4. Try getting little ones to stand facing you and holding your hands, with their feet on top of your feet for this – great fun for them and a good challenge to your core stability!

Older kids might be interested to learn a bit more about Pete Seeger. Fascinating life, fabulous music. His New York Times obituary is here.