School season is nigh, and you’ve spent the last few weeks preparing for that most essential part of the day: lunch. You’ve got the fresh backpack, the eco-friendly gear, and a month’s worth of recipes to ensure your child will be the envy of her table mates. But wait: your budding foodies don’t just need to eat their food. They also need to be able to talk about food. And in grade school, that often means singing about food. Lest you be caught unprepared, we’ve got 10 classic children’s songs that will secure your kid’s bona fides as an expert on eating in all situations:If your child’s teacher has a guitar or piano anywhere in the room, a couple of rounds ahead of time will ensure she’s sitting up front, belting the silly words out at the top of her lungs.The Situation: The Discovered BugThe Song: I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A FlyEvery once in a while, a fly will get in the lunchroom, or someone will discover a mealworm in their meal. This will cause a great deal of excitement and conversation among the younger set (as indeed it would among most sets).
And at some point, any kid worth their salt will need to belt out a verse or two (or as many as they can remember) of this classic.The Song: Do You Know the Muffin Man?Schools don’t just serve lunch anymore. Many kids eat breakfast there too. And what better opportunity to while away the time than with a rousing rendition of this baked-goods classic?The Situation: The Tea PartyThe Song: I’m a Little TeapotOne of the most classic playtime games is the tea party. It has everything: grown-up things, pretending, sharing, and of course, delicious, delicious tea (a.k.a. apple juice, because kids don’t actually like tea). Of course, sometimes it can be hard to sit still long enough to drink your pretend tea. A round of “Little Teapot” comes complete with its own calisthenics.The Situation: Snack TimeThe Song: C Is for CookieWhat better way to celebrate snack time than with Cookie Monster’s theme song? Ever since it first aired in 1972, it’s been popular for school children from preschool all the way up through senior year of college—and, in our own case, way beyond.
The Situation: Cold & Flu SeasonThe Song: On Top of SpaghettiWhen that first lunchroom sneeze of the season covers a friend’s plate of leftover spaghetti, this song will keep everyone at the table laughing (and sneezing) along.The Situation: The Peanut AllergistThe Song: Found a PeanutSomeone has an allergy, and they wind up having to eat at the table where peanut butter sandwiches are forbidden. In the time-honored tradition of making light of others’ suffering, this is the song that will mostly likely be sung.The Situation: The Peanut Allergist’s ResponseThe Song: Think I’ll Go Eat WormsBut if it turns out it’s your child with the allergy, then you need a song that both lightens the atmosphere and makes your son or daughter feel slightly better. Here’s a song that reminds everyone that things could be much worse, and much much more gross.The Situation: The Gross-Out ContestThe Song: Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gophers GutsSpeaking of gross, somewhere out by the fence, away from the recess aides, will be held the eventual kindergarten gross-out contest.
“Great Green Gobs” will be the opening salvo in that gross-out contest, and forewarned is forearmed.The Situation: Impressing Everyone With an Obscure ClassicThe Song: On the Good Ship LollipopThis won’t get anyone anywhere in the lunchroom, but if you think your daughter can pull off a Shirley Temple impression, and you want to drop jaws at dinner parties and family gatherings, this is the song to bust out before dessert. It may take hours and hours of practice (and a few bucks for the backing string orchestra), but what else are kids for, if not to win at dinner parties?They say that music is the food of love, but food is about more than just sustenance. Believe it or not there are many, many songs written about different types of food. Peaches, coconuts, apples and bananas have all been featured in song. Ham, eggs, steak and cake have also been heavily features in musical numbers. Since the nutritional education initiative seen across the world, more and more songs about food have cropped up;
the songs are intended to teach children about the importance of healthy eating. Don’t be fooled, though, not all food songs are supposed to be all about education. In fact, there are many food songs that are just simple, fun and easy songs to learn for both kids and adult audiences.When searching for food songs, most people will be utterly surprised to see the number of songs written about or featuring food. The food songs available in the Food Songs library is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to songs written about or featuring food in them. There are literally thousands of songs that feature foods in some way, shape or form. So, why do people write about food so often? Simply put, people are moved by food. Aside from providing substance, food is also used as a gathering tactic. Food can quickly get a group of people together. The same can be said about songs about food. Food songs seem to unite people across all types of demographics and age groups. Even silly songs for kids will resonate with adults when they are about food, and vice versa.
Adult-focused songs will still resonate with the young if it is about food.Food Songs for KidsFood songs for kids are the most common type of food songs. In fact, the majority of songs written about food are intended for children on some level. Many food songs for kids focus on teach simple lessons. The Ice Cream Song, for example, teaches counting and can be used to entertain on long trips. The Apples and Bananas song teaches the basics of phonics while allowing kids to be silly and feel entertained when other forms of entertainment are not available.Food songs are commonly seen on children’s television shows. Mulligan Stew, a show that ran from 1972 through 1981, used a song called “The Four Food Groups” as their theme song. Sesame Street, The Muppet Babies, and many other educational programs have used food songs in some way. Hey Arnold!, a children’s cartoon that ran in the 1990s, for example, had an entire episode dedicated to the food groups, with characters singing about and dressed as fruits, vegetables and grains.
Food Songs Intended for AdultsWhile there are a lot of food songs that are directly intended for children audiences, there are also quite a few food songs that were originally cut and played for adult audiences. In fact, there have been several songs about foods that have made it to the top of popular charts. Peaches by The Presidents of the USA topped the charts in the 1990s with its catchy ditty about eating peaches in all sorts of different circumstances. Coconut, originally recorded by Harry Nilsson in 1971. The song has been covered many times over the years by many different artists. The songs meaning is unknown, but it was once performed by The Muppets, which goes to show how well these types of songs transcend across different age groups and demographics.About Our Food Songs'Food glorious food, hot sausage and mustard' - surely this song from the classic movie Oliver has got to be one the best food songs ever! If you think not, then we challenge you to look through our huge collection of food songs for children, and find one that you do like.
