Need a fun, catchy song for your early childhood music groups this summer? “Watermelon, Watermelon” is one of our favorite children’s songs that kids (and educators) LOVE!

*download the mp3 + lyrics + chords at the bottom of the page

This song is written in rondo form (ABCA) and is sung a cappella, or without instrumental accompaniment. Instead, students have the opportunity to use body percussion or hand clapping motions while they sing the song.

We (the educator) start the song with a hand pattern; patting the top of our thighs twice, and then clapping our hands together once [pat-pat, clap; pat-pat, clap]. We encourage the students to start this hand pattern while we model the motions and we start singing the song as we all keep playing this hand pattern:

Watermelon, watermelon, yummy!

I’ve got some watermelon in my tummy

Cool and crispy when it’s sunny

Watermelon, watermelon, yummy!

I love when a song has many possibilities for variation and different goals that can be addressed in our classroom or therapy sessions. “Watermelon, Watermelon” is one of those flexible spring and summer songs with multiple educational and therapeutic purposes.

Let’s go through different implementation ideas, musicals and non-musical goals we might accomplish with this fun, preschool & kindergarten song:

Musical Knowledge

This song uses a hand clapping pattern that can guide kids to learn and demonstrate awareness of a steady beat and tempo. Using developmentally appropriate movements (i.e. patting, clapping), children can experience changes they hear in the music. This song can also provide opportunities for children to learn musical vocabulary such as beat (fast, slow), and volume (loud, soft) in discussions during and after the activity.

Movement

By engaging in repetitive motions, children have the opportunity to respond to the music through non-locomotor (hand clapping, patting) movements. This song can also be adapted to engage kids in locomotor movements such as walking or marching around the room to the beat or rhythm of the song (as a variation to clapping and patting).

Social Studies

Do you create seasonal lesson plans? I do, and often plan songs and learning activities centered around a season or holiday. Singing songs representative of different celebrations , holidays, and seasons provide children with the essential knowledge and understanding of music as an important part of history, cultures and the human experience.

You may initiate a conversation about different foods eaten during the summer, summer activities, traditions and holidays they celebrate. This may also lead to important conversations about holidays and traditions celebrated by other countries and cultures during this time of the year.

Math & Literacy Skills Development

Building early math & literacy skills such as sequencing, counting, alphabet recognition, etc. is part of the core knowledge learned in preschool and kindergarten. If you are teaching basic math skills such as counting, “Watermelon, Watermelon” might be a fun song to use:

1-2-3 save some for me
4-5-6 your fingers might get sticky
7-8-9 the taste is divine