Dr. Emily AronoffI wrote the Sea Splitting Scarf Song because I wanted a Passover song that works for the youngest babies in the room. The scarf is the sea. It hides. It reveals. On the words “Hello, freedom, I see you,” the scarf comes down and a face appears. That moment of connection, the eye contact, the delight, the relationship between the child and the person holding the scarf, that is the whole experience. And it is exactly right for an infant or toddler
This can be a baby’s first Passover song.
I use blue and white scarves- but cloth napkins work, too!.
The peekaboo structure is one of the earliest social-emotional games we have. I just put it inside the Passover story. For the youngest children, this song is about movement, rhythm, and connection long before it is about the Sea of Reeds. The theology comes later. The joy comes first.
The song also introduces the Dayeinu melody before children ever hear the full prayer. By the time Dayeinu arrives at the Seder table, it will feel familiar. The song does the preparation so the ritual can land.
Sing it with the babies on your lap. Hide the scarf over their face and lift it on the reveal. Watch what happens.
Passover Movement Ideas for Infants and Toddlers: How to Use This Song
For infants, play the game directly. Sit your baby facing you. Hide the scarf gently over their face for just a beat, then lift it. Make eye contact. Smile big. That shriek of delight is the experience. You do not need to explain anything.
For toddlers, model the game first and let them take over. Hold the scarf in front of your face. “Where did I go?” Pull it down. “There I am.” They will grab their own scarf and start immediately.
For mixed-age groups, pair a four-year-old with a toddler and let the older child lead the peekaboo. That is intergenerational learning in a music circle.
Once the song is familiar with older children, name the connection: “The Israelites were hidden on one side of the sea. Then the sea opened and they walked through. Hello, freedom.” Children who have played the game understand the narrative immediately. The body memory does the teaching.
At the Seder table, use this during Maggid when the sea splitting is described. Pull out scarves or napkins and wave them together.
Passover Song Lyrics: Sea Splitting Scarf Song
Did the waters fly high?
Did the waters flow low?
And you scrunch up your scarf
Did they splash up real fast
Or they fall really slow?
Where did everybody go?
Where did everybody go?
Hello, freedom, I see you.
And then when the waters parted
That’s when the party started
More than enough, that’s what you do
Day, Dayeinu…Peekaboo!
Passover Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Every Age in Between
The Sea Splitting Scarf Song is one piece of a complete Passover unit inside Songleading for Kiddos, a comprehensive songleading support system.
