Songwriting Your First Verse

Paper and a pencil for writing lyrics

Optional: a simple instrument like a ukulele, keyboard, or xylophone for accompaniment

Ask your child: "If you could write a song about anything in the whole world, what would it be about?" Accept whatever they say.

Write their topic at the top of a piece of paper. Big and proud.

Brainstorm words related to the topic. If it's pizza: cheesy, gooey, pepperoni, yummy, hot, slice, bite, night. Write them all down.

Help them craft two lines that rhyme using some of those words: "Pizza, pizza, hot and cheesy / Eating pizza, nice and easy."

Add two more lines to complete a four-line verse. It doesn't need to be Shakespeare — it needs to be theirs.

Try singing the words to a simple melody. Make one up, or borrow a familiar tune like "Twinkle Twinkle" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Sing the verse together several times until it feels natural and owned. You wrote an original song!

The most important rule of songwriting with kids: their ideas are always valid. If they want to write about boogers, you're writing about boogers.

Rhyming is helpful but not required. Plenty of real songs don't rhyme perfectly. Focus on expression over perfection.

If your child writes words down themselves, this becomes a literacy activity too — sounding out words, forming letters, organizing thoughts.

Record the finished song on your phone. Playing it back gives your child immense pride and makes the experience feel real and important.

Come back to the song later and add a second verse. Songs grow over time, just like the kids who write them.