Free Taking Turns Song Printable

The Taking Turns Song is a musical social story that helps children learn to wait patiently and manage their bodies while they do. This free resource includes access to a sing-along video and a one-page black and white printable packed with practical strategies. You can listen to the song and download the free taking turns song printable at the bottom of this post.

What’s Included in This Taking Turns Song Printable

The printable is one page in black and white, making it easy to print and use right away. It features six illustrated panels, each showing a different strategy children can use while they wait: taking three slow breaths in and out, playing a quiet mental eye-spy game, counting slowly on their fingers, using quiet fidgets like palm tracing, reading a book quietly, and tapping their feet gently.

Each panel includes a simple caption written in child-friendly language, such as “I can count slowly on my fingers.” The black and white format makes it easy to reproduce for a whole class or therapy group, and children can color the illustrations as an added quiet activity.

The printable also includes a QR code and a link to the Taking Turns Song on YouTube. The song works as a musical version of a social story, giving children a memorable, rhythmic way to internalize each waiting strategy.

Listen to the Taking Turns Song

Skills This Taking Turns Song Activity Supports

This resource targets several important self-regulation and sensory motor skills:

• Self-regulation and impulse control
• Attention and focus
• Sensory processing through quiet movement strategies
• Breathing and body awareness
• Social skills and turn-taking
• Working memory and following multi-step strategies

Learning to wait is one of the most challenging social and regulatory tasks for young children. These skills lay the foundation for positive classroom participation, cooperative play, and emotional resilience.

How to Use This Taking Turns Song Activity

Play the Taking Turns Song video as a class or group introduction, then display or distribute the printable as a reference. Here are some great settings for this resource:

• Occupational therapy sessions focused on self-regulation or social skills
• Classroom morning meetings or community circle time
• Small group social skills instruction
• Whole class instruction before transitions or group activities
• Home use to prepare children for waiting situations like appointments or errands
• Visual support posted in the classroom for ongoing reference

Tips and Variations

For younger children or those who are new to waiting strategies, walk through each panel together before expecting independent use. Practicing the strategies during calm moments helps children access them more easily when they actually need to wait.

To increase engagement, let children vote on their favorite waiting strategy and practice it together as a group. You can also use the printable as a discussion prompt, asking children to share times when each strategy might come in handy.

Laminate the printable and post it at a child’s eye level in the classroom or therapy room so it becomes a familiar visual cue. For children working on a specific regulation goal, highlight just one or two strategies at a time rather than introducing all six at once.

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