Teaching a toddler the days of the week is hard for one specific reason: time is abstract. A child can see an apple, hear an apple, hold an apple. They cannot see Tuesday. The fastest way around this is song — a melody plus rhyme plus repetition is what cements abstract sequences in young memory.
Here are the eight best days of the week songs for kids, with full lyrics, the age each one fits, and the routines that turn them from a circle-time chant into a real grasp of the week.
Why Songs Are the Fastest Way to Teach the Week
The days of the week are a closed seven-item sequence, repeated forever. That makes them perfect for melodic learning — a short tune, fixed order, daily repetition. Children typically master the sequence between ages three and five, with song-based exposure cutting that timeline roughly in half compared to verbal-only instruction.
1. The Addams Family Days of the Week Song
Sung to the Addams Family theme tune. The snap-snap rhythm is the most-shared days song in US preschools because it doubles as a movement break.
- •Days of the week (snap snap), days of the week (snap snap)
- •Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week (snap snap)
- •There's Sunday and there's Monday, there's Tuesday and there's Wednesday
- •There's Thursday and there's Friday and then there's Saturday
- •Days of the week (snap snap), days of the week (snap snap)
- •Best for: ages 3–6 — easy snap rhythm, strong recall
2. The Singing Walrus Days of the Week
Calm pace, clear pronunciation, the most-streamed days song for non-native English learners.
- •Sunday, Monday, Tuesday too
- •Wednesday, Thursday just for you
- •Friday, Saturday — that's the end
- •Now let's say those days again
- •Best for: ages 2–4, ESL classrooms
3. Days of the Week to Frère Jacques
Uses a melody children already know, which slashes the learning curve.
- •Sunday, Monday, Sunday, Monday
- •Tuesday too, Tuesday too
- •Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
- •Saturday, Saturday
- •Best for: ages 2–5 — leverages prior melody knowledge
4. There Are Seven Days in the Week
A teaching song that explicitly states the number seven — useful because the count is itself part of the lesson.
- •There are seven days, there are seven days
- •There are seven days in the week
- •Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
- •Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- •Best for: kindergarten — pairs counting with sequencing
5. Today is Monday Eric Carle Song
Based on the Eric Carle picture book — pairs each day with a food, supporting both calendar and vocabulary skills.
- •Today is Monday, today is Monday, Monday string beans
- •All you hungry children, come and eat it up
- •(continues through each day with a different food)
- •Best for: ages 3–5, picture-book follow-up
6. Super Simple Days of the Week
Mid-tempo, single-line-per-day. The least cluttered version, best for the youngest learners.
7. Cocomelon Days of the Week
High-energy version with animation. Effective but tends to be the recall mechanism children remember years later — set the expectation that it's a teaching tool, not a media diet.
8. The Days of the Week Song (Have Fun Teaching)
Classroom favorite for transition time. Pairs days with simple actions (Monday — clap, Tuesday — stomp) to chain memory through movement.
Activities That Make the Days of the Week Actually Stick
- •Sing the day every morning at breakfast — Today is Tuesday, not just any random day
- •Keep a wall calendar at the child's eye level — point to today's box as you sing
- •Pair each day with a routine — Monday is library day, Friday is pizza night — so the week has texture
- •Use yesterday and tomorrow vocabulary alongside the song after age four
- •Cross off days as they pass — sequencing made visible
Common Mistakes
- •Reciting without a fixed starting day — start every time on Sunday or Monday, never mid-week
- •Singing only once a week — daily repetition is the active ingredient
- •Skipping the days that don't have routines attached — Wednesday and Thursday are often weakest because they feel featureless
- •Switching languages mid-week — use one language until the sequence is fluent, then add the second