Here are 25 hello songs for preschool circle time, each with full lyrics and the familiar tune it is sung to. Most run under three minutes, need no instruments, and have a spot for every child’s name. Seven video greeting songs from Super Simple Songs, The Kiboomers and others are embedded in the sections they fit, so you can hear a melody before you teach it.
The songs are grouped by job: greet each child by name, take attendance, get bodies moving, check in on feelings, or fill thirty seconds while stragglers find their carpet squares. There is also a set for the first week of school, when nobody knows anyone’s name yet.
Before the lyrics, a short guide covers timing, names, the child who will not sing, and how to scale for six children or twenty. For the rest of the morning meeting, our 14 circle time songs pick up where this page ends.
On this page
- How to use these songs at circle time
- Hello songs that greet each child by name
- Attendance songs: who is here today?
- Action and movement hello songs
- Hello songs that check in on feelings
- Quick good morning songs and 30-second greetings
- Hello songs for the first week of school
- Frequently asked questions
How to use these songs at circle time
Keep it to two to four minutes. A hello song opens circle, nothing more. One verse per child works for a group of eight. For twenty, sing it once to the whole class and follow with a fast name chant like Bee Bee Bumble Bee, or sing to five children a day and rotate through the week. If the song is dragging, the children will tell you by lying down.
Use every child’s name. Hearing your name sung by twelve people is the fastest route to belonging, and it is early literacy: three-year-olds recognize their name by sound before they recognize it in print. Point to the child or hold up their name card as you sing it. Every name should be sung by the end of the week, not only the hand-raisers.
Invite, do not require. Some children will sit at the edge of the rug with arms crossed for three weeks. That is participation: they are watching, learning the words, and most will sing at home before they sing at school. Sing their name with the same warmth as everyone else’s, let them pass when a reply is expected, and do not make a fuss when they join in. A spoken name, a nod, or a wave all count.
Pick one song and keep it for a month. The same song every morning is a routine anchor: children hear the first line and know it is time to sit and face you. Change it when the class is bored, not when you are; for variety, swap the action, not the tune. Afterwards, one of our 21 transition songs will move the class to the next activity without a speech from you.
Add a gesture or a sign. A wave on hello, a hand on the heart on “glad you’re here,” and a neighbor handshake give a child something to do while they learn the words. If you use sign language, add the ASL signs for HELLO, FRIEND, and HAPPY; signs also give a non-speaking child a way to take part on day one.
Large group or small group. Six children can handle call-and-response verses and individual turns. With twenty, pick songs the whole class sings together, keep your voice steady rather than loud, and save name songs for small groups or the door at drop-off.
Hello songs that greet each child by name
These are the workhorses. Each one has a slot for a name, and each one is sung to a tune the children already know, so the only new thing to learn is the words. The video below is a good model for the pace: bright, steady, and over before anyone wanders off.
Hello
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Frere Jacques”
Hello, (child’s Name) Hello, (child’s name)
How are you? How are you?
We’re so glad to have you,
We’re so glad to have you.
Here at school, here at school.
Works from age two up; have the whole group wave at whoever is named, and a class of twelve takes about two minutes.
Hello Song
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Three Blind Mice”
Hello, (child’s name). Hello, (child’s name).
How are you? How are you?
We’re glad you’re here to laugh and play,
We hope you’ll have some fun today,
You’re welcome, welcome everyday.
To our playschool.
Longer than the Frere Jacques version, so save it for a small group of fours and fives, or sing it once to the class with “everyone” in the name slot.
Another name song
Original Author: Unknown
Oh what do you think my name is?
I wonder if you know?
My name is (name) *point to a child and they say this line.
Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello.
The eight hellos at the end are the payoff: have the class clap once on each hello and point at the child who was named.
Bee Bee Bumble Bee
Original Author: Unknown
Bee Bee Bumble Bee
Can you sing your name to me?
(Point to a child)
(child sings) My name is (name)
The best name chant for three-year-olds: keep a steady lap-pat beat, and accept a whispered name as a full answer.
Hello Do-o-Do-a
Submitted by: Tracy Eckel
Hello (Child’s Name) Do-o-Do-a
(Clap Alternating from hands to knees)
Hello (Child’s Name) Do-o-Do-a
(Clap Alternating from hands to knees)
Hello (Child’s Name) Do-o-Do-a
(Clap Alternating from hands to knees)
Shake your fingers down
(Shake Your Fingers down)
OR
(Child’s Name) is here today!!
The hands-to-knees clap gives fidgety fours something to do while they wait for their own name.
Welcome Song
Submitted by: Susan Tingley
(Name) here today
(Name) here today
I’m so happy that (names) here today
Go through each child’s name then at the end of the song sing all the (group name ie: toddlers, infants) are here today all the (group names) are here today. I’m so happy all the (group names are here today).
Good for toddler and mixed-age rooms; the group-name ending lets you close the song cleanly even when the class is large.
Attendance songs: who is here today?
These do two jobs at once. The class greets each other, and you find out who is absent without reading a list. Counting the children at the end is a natural bridge into calendar songs and the rest of morning meeting.
Who’s here?
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “London Bridges”
How many Friends are here today?
Here to learn, here to play?
How many friends are here today?
Let us count them.
Sing it once, count heads out loud together, and write the number on the board; it slides straight into calendar time.
Who is here today?
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Let’s see who is here today,
Who has come to join our play?
Everyone sit close at hand,
Say your name, then you can stand,
Let’s see who is here today,
Who has come to join our play?
The “say your name, then you can stand” line gives you a built-in turn-taking rule that fours and fives will police themselves.
I like to come to…
Original Author: Unknown
Sung To: ”The Farmer in the Dell”
I like to come to (preschool, daycare, class)
I like to come to (preschool, daycare, class)
With all the other boys and girls
I like to come to (preschool, daycare, class)
Because (name) will be there, and (name) will be there
(Keep on till you’ve named everyone)
And we’re so glad that we’re all here.
Decide on preschool, daycare or class before you start, and speed up the name list for a big group so the last child is not waiting a full minute.
Where is…
Original Author: Unknown
Sung To: “Are You Sleeping?”
Where is (name)?
Where is (name)?
Did he/she come?
Did he/she come?
Come to (daycare, preschool. Bible class),
Come to (daycare, preschool. Bible class)
Yes, he/she did
There he/she is!
Have the named child pop up and wave on the last line; three-year-olds love being found.
Action and movement hello songs
Use these when the class arrives wound up, or on a rainy day when nobody has run yet. Waving, shaking hands and clapping burn off the first five minutes of energy and get children facing each other instead of you. The Kiboomers video shows the actions clearly enough that children can copy it without your help.
Greeting Song
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “The farmer in the dell”
Teacher:
I’m glad you came today,
I’m glad you came today.
Hello to everyone, (wave hello)
I’m glad you came today.
Children:
We’re glad we came today,
We’re glad we came today.
Hello, hello to everyone, (wave hello)
We’re glad we came today.
All:
We’ll work and play today,
We’ll work and play today.
Hello, hello to everyone, (wave hello)
We’ll work and play today.
The teacher-then-children structure is one fours can run on their own by mid-year; let a child lead the first verse once they know it.
Start the day with a smile
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “The Mulberry bush”
This is the way we start the day,
Start the day, start the day.
This the way we start the day,
So early in the morning.
First we smile and shake a hand,
Shake a hand, shake a hand.
First we smile and shake a hand,
So early in the morning.
Then we sit down quietly,
Quietly, Quietly
Then we sit down quietly,
So early in the morning.
We listen very Carefully,
Carefully, Carefully.
We listen very carefully,
So early in the morning.
This one is a routine rehearsal in disguise: by the last verse the children are seated and listening, which is exactly where you want them.
Hello, How Are You?
Submitted by: Wanda Perez
Sung To: “Skip To My Lou”
Hello, how are you? (Wave at children)
Hello, how are you?
Hello, how are you?
How are you this morning?
I’m fine and I hope you are, too (Point to self)
I’m fine and I hope you are, too
I’m fine and I hope you are, too
I hope you are, too this morning!
Turn to your neighbor and shake their hand
Turn to your neighbor and shake their hand
Turn to your neighbor and shake their hand
Shake their hand this morning!
Practice the neighbor handshake once before you sing, and add the ASL sign for HELLO on the first verse if you use signs in your room.
Hello songs that check in on feelings
Each of these asks “How are you?” and leaves room for an answer. Pause after the question and let children reply with a thumbs up, thumbs sideways or thumbs down, or point to a feelings chart. You learn who had a rough drop-off before the day gets going. The Super Simple Songs video pairs a hello with four feelings and is the one most children already know.
Welcome Song
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “If you’re Happy and You Know It”
Good morning, good morning How are you?
Good morning, good morning. How are you?
How are you this special day.
We’re glad you came to play.
Stop after each “How are you?” and let the class answer with a thumb signal before you finish the verse.
Welcome Song
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Happy and You Know It”
Good morning, good morning.. How are you?
Good morning, good morning. How are you?
How are you this special day.
We’re glad you came to play.
Good morning, good morning.. How are you?
Same tune with the question repeated at the end; use this version when you want the song to land on a question the children answer out loud.
Good Morning
Submitted by: Ranisha Reno
Class: Good morning (child’s name) Good morning how are you?
Child: I’m fine, I’m fine and I hope that you are too.
A two-line call and response that hands every child a scripted answer, which helps the ones who freeze when asked how they feel.
Quick good morning songs and 30-second greetings
For the mornings when the bus was late, half the class is still hanging up coats, and you need to open circle in the time it takes the last two children to sit down. Everything here is one verse on a tune every child already knows. The two videos are good morning songs you can leave playing at arrival while you greet families at the door.
Welcome
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Happy Birthday”
We welcome you here,
We welcome you here.
We welcome everybody,
We welcome you here.
Four lines on the one tune every child knows, done in twenty seconds; open your arms wide on “everybody.”
Hello Children
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Good-night ladies”
Hello, children; hello children,
Hello, children; I’m glad you’re here today.
Two lines you can sing on your own while the last children sit down; no participation required, which makes it a good first-day song.
Greeting
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”
We wish you a happy Monday,
We wish you a happy Monday,
We wish you a happy Monday… all day long.
Swap in the day of the week each morning and it becomes a bridge from hello straight into the calendar.
Starting the day
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Mary had a little lamb”
Merrily we start the day,
Start the day, start the day.
Merrily we start the day,
All of us at school.
Sing it twice, the second time with a gentle side-to-side sway, and you are done in under a minute.
Good Morning
Original Author: Unknown
Good Morning,
Good Morning
The Best to you each morning!
With a Hi
and a Ho
and Hey Hey Hey
the BEST to you each day!
Big arm wave on “Hi,” a bow on “Ho,” and three claps on “Hey Hey Hey”; fours love the ending.
Good Morning
Original Author: Unknown
Sung To: “Happy Birthday”
Good morning to you, good morning to you.
Good morning everybody, good morning to you.
I’m so glad you’re here, I’m so glad you’re here.
Come sit in our circle, I’m so glad you’re here.
(sub morning/afternoon and our circle, at our table, etc. as needed)
The “Come sit in our circle” line makes this a gathering song: start singing before everyone has arrived and the stragglers will come to you.
Hello songs for the first week of school
In the first week nobody knows the routine, several children are crying at drop-off, and you do not know all the names yet either. These three songs introduce you, welcome the child, and ask for a name without putting anyone on the spot. Pair them with our back to school songs, the All About Me song for the second week, and friendship songs once the class starts to gel. The two videos below are the simplest hello songs on this page, and both are short enough for a two-year-old to follow.
Glad to see you
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Frere Jacques”
Teacher:
I’m Ms. (name), I’m Ms. (name).
That’s my name, That’s my name.
Glad to see you here.
Glad to see you here.
What’s your name? What’s your name?
Child:
I am (name), I am (name).
That’s my name, that’s my name.
I am glad to be here,
I am glad to be here.
At school today, at school today.
Model both verses yourself for the first day or two before you expect a child to sing the reply; a spoken name still counts.
We welcome you
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Mary had a little lamb”
We welcome you to school today,
School today, School today,
We welcome you to school today,
Please come in and play.
We’re glad to have you here today,
Here today, here today.
We’re glad to have you here today.
Yes, it’s a special day!
Sing it at the door on day one as each family arrives, then move it to circle once drop-off settles down.
I want to say hello
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “I’m a little teapot”
I am your new teacher, Mrs. (name),
I want to say hello to you.
We will learn our letters and numbers too!
We’ll have fun and learn lots too!
A one-verse teacher solo for the first morning; it tells new children who you are and what happens in this room.
Frequently asked questions
How long should circle time be for preschoolers?
Ten to fifteen minutes for three-year-olds, and up to twenty for fours and fives who are used to it. A rough guide is one minute of sitting per year of age before you need to change the activity. The hello song takes the first two to four minutes of that, so plan the calendar, the story, and the movement break around what is left.
What makes a good hello song?
A tune the children already know, a slot for a name, and one action they can do with their hands. It should be short enough to finish before the fidgeting starts and simple enough that a child who has heard it twice can sing along. If you have to look at the lyrics while you sing, it is too long.
How do I get shy children to join in?
You do not, at least not directly. Sing their name with the same warmth as everyone else, let them pass when a reply is expected, and let them sit at the edge of the rug if that is where they are comfortable. Give them a job that is not singing, like holding the name cards or choosing the next child. Most shy children sing the song at home for weeks before they sing it at school, and they will join in at circle when they are ready.
Should I use the same hello song every day?
Yes, for at least a few weeks at a time. Repetition is what turns a song into a routine cue: the children hear the first line and know it is time to sit and face you. Change the actions or the verse before you change the tune, and switch songs when the class is bored rather than when you are.
What is the difference between a hello song and a good morning song?
A hello song greets each child, usually by name, and works at any time of day, including afternoon sessions. A good morning song greets the whole group and the day itself, and it is often sung to everyone at once rather than one child at a time. Many teachers use both: a good morning song while children gather, then a hello song once everyone is seated.
Do I need music or instruments?
No. Every song on this page is written to be sung a cappella to a tune you already know, and your own voice is easier for children to follow than a recording. Use the videos to learn a melody or to play at arrival time, but sing the greeting yourself at circle so you can slow down, pause for answers, and put in each child’s name.
What to sing next
Once the greeting is done, the rest of the morning meeting needs songs too. Our 37 preschool weather songs cover the weather chart, and the 15 good manners songs are a natural follow-up in the first month, when “please” and “thank you” are still being learned. Pick one hello song from this page, keep it for a month, and let the children tell you when it is time for a new one.