Dr. Emily AronoffThis song is designed to support shared attention and imaginative participation during Tu Bishvat gatherings. Notice how the repeated chorus creates a clear return point after movement and sound play.
Tu Bishvat Song for Kids: What This Song Makes Possible
The Tree Animal Song is a super silly share that invites children into active participation through naming animals, making sounds, and showing movement. The song helps children experience trees as living habitats by centering the animals that depend on them.
This song works especially well in early childhood classrooms, family programs, and Tot Shabbat settings where educators want children to contribute ideas confidently while staying connected to a shared group experience. The structure allows for high energy and imagination without losing cohesion.
Why This Song Was Written
This song was written to build on what young children already do naturally: they notice animals, name them, imitate their sounds, and wonder where they live.
Tu Bishvat offers a meaningful opportunity to expand that curiosity by introducing the idea that trees are not just things we see, but homes that support many different kinds of life. This song provides a clear musical framework that allows children to contribute ideas freely while remaining grounded in a collective rhythm and pattern.
The organizing work happens inside the music, which makes space for children’s ideas to lead the experience.
Musical Structure That Supports Participation
Super Silly Tree Animal Song is a zipper song with a repeating chorus that anchors the group.
Each verse invites children to contribute- an animal, a sound, a movement, while the musical structure stays consistent. The chorus functions as a reset point, helping re-establish shared focus after moments of high-energy movement.
This balance between repetition and variation is what allows the song to stay playful without becoming chaotic.
How to Lead This Tu Bishvat Song With Children
Begin by teaching the chorus and singing it several times until the entire group joins in. This creates a shared foundation before introducing verses.
For each verse:
- Show a Tree Animal Card, puppet, or plush
- Invite children to name the animal
- Ask the group to make the animal’s sound
- Ask how the animal moves and model briefly
- Return to the chorus and sing it long enough to regroup
Repeat familiar animals to build confidence, and introduce new ones to expand vocabulary and thinking.
Jewish Music and Movement Teaching Notes
- The chorus is a regulation tool, not just a refrain. Use it intentionally to bring the group back together. Get everyone back together on the “Ooooooooo”
- Let children’s ideas lead, while you maintain pacing and sequence.
- Be explicit in your directions for movement- should children stay in one spot or can they move around the room?
Use the Printable Tree Animal Cards
I created a set of printable Tree Animal Cards specifically to support this song. The cards feature photographs of tree-dwelling animals and help children connect the music to real habitats.
The cards can be used to:
- prompt animal naming
- expand conversations about where animals live
- keep verses moving smoothly without searching for ideas
What Children Practice Through This Song
Children practice:
- expressive language and vocabulary
- vocal exploration and sound production
- gross motor coordination
- turn-taking and shared attention
- early ecological thinking about habitats and interdependence
Educators gain a reliable structure for inviting participation without losing group cohesion.
Jewish Learning Connections for Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat centers trees as sources of life. Through this song, children experience that idea by naming animals who live in trees and imagining how those animals move and survive.
Rather than explaining environmental responsibility, the song allows children to experience trees as living systems that support many forms of life.
Pair This With
Happy Birthday, Trees offers a complementary Tu Bishvat experience using rhythm sticks and coordinated movement to explore gratitude for trees.
Lyrics: Super Silly Tree Animal Song
Chorus:
OOOOOOH!
(sing until everyone joins to re-establish shared focus after each verse)
Who do you know, who do you know who might live in a tree?
There are so many different kinds of tree home families!
Suggested animals: Owl, Monkey, Frog, Sloth, Snake
Verses (Zipper Format):
This animal is a ___________ (show visual, kids identify)
and it makes this kind of sound ___________ (kids make sound)
and when the ___________ (kids say animal name again)
moves, here is how they move around ___________ (kids demonstrate motion)
Teach Tu Bishvat with Confidence
The Songleading for Kiddos Tu Bishvat course includes 15 carefully curated songs with modeling videos, practical songleader guides, and shoppable links for materials. It’s designed to support early childhood and family educators in leading Tu Bishvat with clarity, joy, and strong musical structure. The course also includes a complete early childhood Tu Bishvat seder plan, so you can design a meaningful experience without starting from scratch.
