I love starting a lesson with Hello songs for children or a warm up. It is the best way, I think, to get the kids loosened up, in the mood and ready to start working and speaking English. If you are bored with the Hello song you have been using, you might find some more ideas here. There are lots and lots of different EFL ESL Hello songs out there so I wanted to share some of my favorites with you and show you how to use them in class . You can use them with a wide range of ages from preschool to teenagers and with different types of classes. You can also adapt them depending on the time of day and the vocabulary you want to concentrate on in that lesson. So stretch your arms, wiggle your feet and let’s get warmed up and ready to go with my 10 favorite EFL ESL Hello songs for children!
Hello! by Super Simple Songs
Super Simple Songs have amazing songs and videos with something for nearly every occasion and theme. This is my favorite of their Hello songs for kids and the one that I use the most often with my classes of preschool children. It’s great because it teaches not only the greeting but also the question “How are you today?” and a selection of responses. After you’ve sung the song together with your class, you can follow it up by going around the class and asking each child how they are. Or get the children to ask each other how they are.
Good Morning Song for Kids by The Singing Walrus
The Singing Walrus songs are always great for dancing and this one is no exception. It practices asking how you are and also some actions and is fun to dance along to and wake up sleepy children. You could adapt it to different times of day by singing “good afternoon” or even just “hello”. You could also add different actions in the verses to practice actions like jumping up and down or turning around.
Hello Song by Dave Moran
This is a good song for older kids who already know the main ways to say hello and the other Hello songs and want something a little different. It uses slightly more complicated vocabulary which is more suited to older children. However, it isn’t too long or complicated to learn. It also has a lovely video to go with it with some drawings which you could try and do something similar to on the board. If you can play a guitar or another musical instrument, I think this would be a great song to play along to as you’re singing it. I can’t so will just have to sing along to the video.
The Greetings Song by Maple Leaf Learning
This song will practice all the greetings your kids will ever need in one song. So it doesn’t matter what time your lesson is as you’re going to learn good morning, good afternoon, hello, goodbye and more. It’s fun to sing it a few times and get faster and faster each time you sing it. Or sing it loud then quiet than fast then slow to practice following different instructions. You could also use it if you’re teaching times of day and daily routines.
I’ve Got the Rhythm by Pinkfong Songs for Children
Well, you could start your class with Baby Shark. But if you want a different fun song to get your everyone moving, this is almost as infectious. It practices parts of the body and will have the whole class dancing and singing along. I think it would probably work with older kids too. It’s got a good beat and they’d probably find the dance really funny. Plus, added bonus, they say bottom, which everyone will no doubt think is hilarious.
Days of the Week by Fun Kids English
This song practices the days of the week by singing and chanting. It is a good introduction and you can then ask “What day is it today?” You could use flashcards or drawings on the board for each day to point to as you sing the song. You could also let the kids take turns to point to the right card or drawing as you go through the days.
Wake up! by Out of the Ark Music
I love this song as a warm up! It is really cheerful and teaches lots of great action vocabulary. It works with all ages and kids love doing the actions. I think it would work really well if you need to do a show for parents or other kids with your class. You could get everyone to join in and really enjoy themselves. It’s easy to learn and makes everyone happy.
Warm Up Song by Amanda’s Action Club
If it’s grey and miserable outside and the kids are half asleep and grumpy, this is the best song. It will jolt them out of their bad mood and get everybody moving. And if they’re still grumpy at the end, make them do it again! If you do this song with 7 or 8 classes during the day, it will be the equivalent of a trip to the gym. So you can collapse on the sofa with ice cream afterwards. On the more practical side, it practices action verbs and parts of the body too.
Freeze Dance by The Kiboomers
Another warm up song to get the kids moving. This time they have to follow the instructions and then freeze. You could adapt this to all sorts of actions and it’s good for all ages. It might also be a good way to get the kids to learn that “freeze!” means that they stop everything and listen. You could use this in lots of situations when you want them to stop and listen to you.
Boom Chicka Boom! by The Learning Station
This isn’t a traditional EFL Hello song but it gets the kids moving and all the kids I’ve ever done it with love it. There are different versions for different occasions such as Easter and Valentines Day with lots of different actions and vocabulary. It’s silly but it’s fun and the kids think it’s really funny. It’s also one of those infectious songs that gets into their heads and you hear them singing it as they leave the class to go home, which is great. The down side of this, of course, is that you will find yourself singing it as you cook dinner or walk the dog.
So, that’s my favorite EFL ESL Hello songs for children to start my classes and warm up the kids. Do you have any other favorites? I’m always looking for new ones so please leave any tips in the comments. If you’ve enjoyed this collection and want to see some of my other Top 10 EFL ESL songs for kids, you can find them all here. To stay up to date with new posts and teaching ideas, you can follow the GoogooEnglish Facebook page. Alternatively, sign up for email updates below.