Dr. Emily AronoffEvery generation is commanded to see themselves as if they personally left Egypt. That is not a metaphor. It is the instruction. These songs help make it real.
Whether you are leading an ECC sing-along, a family seder, a religious school music session, or a Tot Shabbat program, this list gives children ages 0-10 and their families a musical pathway through the holiday they can follow year after year.
Slavery. Courage. Liberation. Gratitude. Celebration. The Passover story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and children can feel every part of it through song before they can articulate any of it in words. This list follows that arc.
These highlights come from a comprehensive Jewish music curriculum approach I use across early childhood classrooms, family programs, and congregational settings. In the Songleading for Kiddos Support Squad, educators get access to the full Passover unit and more like it, including teaching notes, session plans, and ongoing support for making choices that fit your space, group, and goals.
1. Building Cities by Shirley Cohen
The story does not start with Moses. It starts in hard times. The Hebrew slaves in Egypt were forced to build cities, bang bang bang, without enough food and without any choices. That is what it means to be a slave, and it is not fair. All people should be allowed to make their own choices.
I use this song to establish the emotional ground before anything else. Children understand unfairness. Starting here gives the whole arc meaning.
2) Where is Baby Moses? by Rachel Buchman
This is always one of the first songs I use when presenting a Passover unit because it provides critical context. Before we can appreciate Moses the leader, children need to know Moses the baby, who he was, who protected him, and what it cost.
I use a baby doll in a basket that I drag across the floor with blue fabric for a dramatic presentation of the river scene. For toddlers and preschoolers, that image of the basket moving across the water does more than words ever could. I’ll also put a child in a laundry basket and drag them across the floor for a faux river ride and some sensory delight.
Download your March Out Of Egypt Music Sheet
3. Baby Moses in a Basket by Ellen Allard
I adore this feminist rendition of the story. Each verse highlights a different woman who supported Moses, Yocheved, Miriam, and Batya, and even in adult groups, most people do not know all three names. I make a point of naming them and, with PreK kids, I ask them to be the teachers at the seder table who tell Bubby who Yocheved is. I have had hundreds of families tell me over the years that a snarky four-year-old corrected an adult at the seder. That delights me. Because this song is very wordy for pre-readers, I tell children their job is to sing and move through the chorus with me, and to take a listening turn during the verses.
Chorus movements:
“Baby Moses in a basket” – pretend to swaddle and rock a baby
“In a basket on the river” – move arms like waves
“Baby Moses in a basket” – swaddle and rock again
“On the river Nile” – waves again
4. Go Down Moses AKA Let My People Go
Moses had a hard time using his words. It was actually tricky for him. But “Let my people go” was the most important thing he would ever say, and he was brave and tried again and again.
I assign parts before we sing: “When I hold up Moses, I want you to sing what Moses said: ‘Let my people go!’ Practice with me a few times.” Then I prompt the group to listen to the verses and join on the chorus.
5) March Out of Egypt by Dr. Emily
Move your bodies as you explore the part of the story when the people moved! Fast, Slow- so many ways to go!
It is a zipper movement song. We march, we hop, we dance, we spin. Sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow. The children call the moves. It works as a movement break during a seder, a few laps around the dining table work beautifully, and it welcomes participation from people of every age and stage.
6. Miriam’s Movement Mi Chamocha by Dr. Emily
Pharaoh changed his mind. He sent his army after the Israelites. They found themselves at the edge of the sea with nowhere to go. And then the sea parted, they crossed on dry land, and when they reached the other side, Miriam led them in song and dance.
This is a zipper movement song with an A section and a B section.
In the A section, participants fill in the blank: “Miriam sang a ______ song.” Replace the word with any action, jumping, clapping, spinning, tambourine. In the B section, we sing the words Miriam sang at the sea.
A Tot Shabbat favorite as well, this song moves easily into large spaces and gets families moving across the room together. I love incorporating tambourines and scarf fans to dial up the drama!
7. Miriam’s Freeze Dance Song by Andi Joseph
A freeze dance for Passover, because children need the energy release, and because Miriam’s celebration deserves its own moment.
The structure is super clear so that even toddlers will quickly know what to expect, and the freeze moments give you a natural way to redirect and re-engage. I use this when groups need to move their bodies before they can settle in for something quieter.
8) Moadim L’Simcha by Eliana Light
This song teaches children how to participate in meaningful ritual. Moadim l’simcha is a greeting that means “festivals of gladness.” It is used during Chol Hamoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. The response, chagim u’zmanim l’sason, means “holidays and seasons of joy.” It is a small piece of literacy that opens a door, using it bolster’s kiddo confidence and impresses your more mature population.
9. Afikomen Mambo by Rabbi Joe Black
I love sharing this song alongside the singable Afikomen storybook, and I also use it at the seder table itself before children go to look for the hidden matzah. The mambo rhythm is genuinely fun, and the anticipation it builds before the search is hard to manufacture any other way.
10. Dayeinu (Storybook or Zipper)
Dayeinu means “it would have been enough for us.” This is not a logical argument. If God had only given us Torah and not the manna, we would have died in the desert. Dayeinu is a practice. It trains us to notice what we have, to hold each gift as complete in itself before reaching for the next one. That is worth starting early.
The singable Dayeinu storybook is a staple of my Passover programming. It works from toddlers through early elementary and gives grown-ups a natural way to participate.
I use the traditional version and also build a zipper version where participants fill in their own Dayeinu verses:
“If God gave us only___
If God gave us only ____
If God gave us only ____
That would be enough!
Comprehensive Songleading For Kiddos Support
This list is a starting point. Inside the Songleading for Kiddos Support Squad, educators get access to the complete Passover unit with video demonstrations, teaching tips, developmental context, and session planning tools for every song.
The Support Squad is a membership community for Jewish music educators who want to lead with confidence and stop reinventing the wheel every week. Members get:
- 200+ songs organized by theme with teaching guides and demo videos
- AI Session Planner to help you make decisions and build sessions fast
- Weekly office hours (Mondays 4PM ET) for real-time support
- Monthly group coaching workshops
As one member put it: “Support Squad helps you not just to lead wonderful songs, but to use those songs to communicate big ideas about Judaism to children and families in a fun and engaging way.”
Passover Songs as a Pathway to Connection
,Passover music is more than just melodies, it’s a gateway to history, values, and collective memory. Each song in this list is designed to help children experience the richness of Jewish tradition through movement, rhythm, and joyful participation.
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