This simple game is called Encuentre el bebé (Find the Baby). Each screen presents a different scene, such as a living room, or the park.  You and your child click where you think the baby might be hiding.

The game asks in Spanish ¿Puedes adivinar dónde está el bebé? (Can you guess where the baby is?).  You will see the question on the screen and hear the Spanish audio. Repeat the question  ¿Dónde está el bebé? to your child. Then, click where your child thinks the baby is hiding. If the baby is not there, you hear Trata otra vez. (Try again).  If you are right, the baby comes out and you hear ¡Sí, te vi! (Yes, I saw you!).  Then you will hear Tratemos de nuevo. (Let’s try again). Click on the arrow in the lower left corner for the next screen.

Click to play the online game that teaches “where” in Spanish

Hearing the question and actively looking for the baby link the concept of place to the word dónde. In this way, the simple activity teaches the meaning of dónde and the use of the verb estar for location.

There are several children’s songs in Spanish that teach or reinforce the question word dónde (where). These songs also teach estar, the Spanish verb for “to be” that is used to express location.

¿Dónde están las llaves? (Where are the keys?) is a traditional song with several versions. It can be a game played by a group of children, a clapping game, or used for jump rope.  It is a very fun song to sing – one that even my university students enjoy.

Traditionally, ¿Dónde están las llaves? is sung as a dialog. One line of children holds hands and faces another line of children holding hands. The two lines are several feet apart. One line of children moves forward to the first two lines of the song, and then back with the next two lines.  The second group of children answers, moving forward with the first lines of the second stanza and then back with the next two lines.  They repeat the same movements with the next two stanzas.  In some versions, the song then names a child who moves between the two lines.

Like many children’s songs, this song has some nonsense sounds. Although they do not have meaning, these nonsense syllables teach the sounds of Spanish.  Here is a link to the version that I teach and the lyrics in Spanish.  There is also a literal translation.

Click here to hear ¿Dónde están las llaves?

Tengo un castillo, / I have a castle

matarile, rile, rile. / matarile, rile, rile.

Yo tengo un castillo, / I have a castle

matarile, rile, ron chimpón. / matarile, rile, ron, chimpón.

¿Dónde están las llaves? / Where are the keys?

matarile, rile, rile. /  matarile, rile, rile.

¿Dónde están las llaves? /  Where are the keys?

matarile, rile, ron, chimpón. / matarile, rile, ron, chimpón.

En el fondo del mar, / At the bottom of the sea,

matarile, rile, rile. / matarile, rile, rile.

En el fondo del mar, / At the bottom of the sea,

matarile, rile, ron, chimpón. / matarile, rile, ron, chimpón.

¿Quién irá a buscarlas? / Who will go to look for them?

matarile, rile, rile. / matarile, rile, rile.

¿Quién irá a buscarlas? / Who will go to look for them?

matarile, rile, ron, chimpón. / matarile, rile, ron, chimpón.

This is another, longer version of ¿Dónde están las llaves? and this a version of ¿Dónde están las llaves? used as a song for jumping rope.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Spanish also teaches the question word dónde.  Instead of the question “How I wonder what you are?” the Spanish version simply asks ¿Dónde estás? (Where are you?).  Here are two different versions of the song, and literal translations of each.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Spanish – Version 1

Estrellita, ¿dónde estas?
Quiero verte cintilar
en el cielo, sobre el mar.
Un diamante de verdad.
Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?
Quiero verte cintilar.

Literal translation:
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine
in the sky, over the sea;
a real diamond.
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Spanish – Version 2

Estrellita, ¿dónde estas?
Quiero verte a ti brillar.
Esta noche allí estarás.
Cual diamante brillarás
Estrellita, ¿dónde estas?
Quiero verte a ti brillar.

Es muy tarde. El sol se va.
Ya la noche llegará.
Ven aquí a iluminar.
Brilla, brilla sin parar.
Estrellita, ¿dónde estas?
Quiero verte a ti brillar

Literal translation:
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine.
Tonight you will be there,
Like a diamond you will shine.
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine.

It’s very late. The sun is leaving.
Soon the night will arrive.
Come here to shine,
shine, shine without stopping.
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine.

Many games and activities are effective tools for teaching the question words in Spanish.  One of the first question words that children learn is dónde (Where).  The question “where” is basic to peek-a-boo with babies, hide and seek, memory, searching for hidden objects in pictures, and countless other games we play with children.

Asking questions with dónde, the verb for “to be” is usually estar: ¿Dónde estás? (Where are you?) ¿Dónde están los libros? (Where are the books?)

Using vocabulary that your child knows, you can ask many “where” questions that your child will understand.  Try asking dónde in these situations:

• Look for any object that isn’t predictably in one place in your house. ¿Dónde está el teléfono? (Where is the telephone?), ¿Dónde están tus zapatos? (Where are your shoes?) ¿Dónde está tu mochila? (Where is your backpack?)

• Play peek-a-boo with a baby sister or brother, or a friend.  ¿Dónde está el bebe?  ¡Aquí está! You can see the peek-a-boo scene from the Spanish language version of the film Ice Age here.

• Read together and ask dónde questions about the illustrations:  ¿Dónde está la luna? (Where is the moon?)  ¿Dónde están los pájaros? (Where are the birds?)

• Ask about body parts in Spanish. Click here to see a great example of a mom asking a child in Spanish to point to the body parts.

• Play memory:

Choose several pairs of cards of vocabulary that your child knows, or is learning.  For example, you can print pairs from these pictures of household objects.  Put the cards face down and try to find the matching pairs.  Use phrases like these:

Es la silla. ¿Dónde está la otra silla? (It’s the chair. Where is the other chair?)

¿Aquí? No, no es la silla.  Es el jabón. (Here? No, that’s not the chair.  It’s the soap.)

¿Aquí? ¡Sí, es el silla! (Here? Yes, it’s the chair!)

Te toca a ti. – It’s your turn.

Me toca a mí. – It’s my turn.

This game is for designed to teach native Spanish speakers the letter sounds. For Spanish language learners, learning the letter sounds in Spanish is essential to good pronunciation and is also the first step in learning to read.  In this game, you choose the word that has a specific letter sound.

The game is set up as Veo, Veo (I spy). Follow these simple steps to play with your child.

Click here to play the game with Spanish letter sounds.

1. Click on the link and you will see the words MAYÚSCULAS (upper case letters) and minúsculas (lower case letters). Click on the one you want to use in the game.

2.  You will hear: Señála la letra con la que quieres jugar (Choose the letter you want to play with.). Click on the letter you want.  It is important for children to practice the Spanish vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) and the silent h, so be sure to include those letters when you play.

3. You will hear: Muy bien. Has elegido la letra __.  Juguemos a Veo,Veo. (Okay. You chose the letter __. Let’s play I Spy.).

Veo, veo una cosita que en su nombre tiene la letrita __.  ¿Tú también la ves? Señálala. (I spy something has the letter __ in its name. Do you see it too?).  You can here this again by clicking on the question mark in the upper right hand corner.

4. Move you mouse over all four words to hear them pronounced in Spanish.  Say each word with your child after you hear it.  This is an important step for practicing Spanish pronunciation and learning vocabulary.

5. Click on the object that has the letter you are looking for in its name.  If you click on the wrong object you will hear Inténtalo de nuevo (Try again.).

¡Diviértanse con los sonidos del español!  Have fun with the sounds of Spanish!

Photographs are one of the best ways to provide a context for Spanish language tasks.  With the visual support provided by the photo, children can understand Spanish words and structures that they might not otherwise recognize.  Also, text supported by pictures can reinforce vocabulary and verb forms that children already know.

The following link will open a series of five photographs.  I have provided a short, simple sentence to describe each photo, and a question about the photo.  Of course, you can talk about the photos with your child in many ways. The pictures will make the Spanish that you use clear. The text that I have provided reinforces the verb tener.

Click here to use the verb tener to describe photographs.

These sentences and questions also appear below the pictures.

1. La casa tiene una ventana y una puerta. ¿De qué color es la casa?

2. El hombre tiene un animal en los brazos. ¿Tiene un gato o un cocodrilo?

3. Los perros tienen sueño. ¿Cuántos perros hay en la foto?

4. La mujer habla con un hombre. ¿Qué tiene la mujer en las manos? ¿Tiene unos libros o unos zapatos?

5. La foto tiene varias personas. Las personas miran los papeles en el piso. ¿De qué color son los papeles?

This song uses the verb tener, and other useful verbs, in the first person. This verb form, the yo form, is one of the first children learn and it lets them talk about what they do. Through actions, the song also teaches a common meaning of así – “this way”, or “like this” – as the children show how big the house is, how the smoke comes out of the chimney, how they knock on the door, and how they clean their shoes to go in.

The words of the song repeat three times, with the same actions.  The change is in the size of the house, and the size of the other actions.  The first time the house is very small, and it gets bigger each time you sing the song.

Actions:

Yo tengo una casita que es así y así – Measure the size of the house with your hands.  It is small for the first verse, bigger for second, and much bigger for the third verse.

Y por la chimenea sale el humo así, así. – Make a spiral with your hand for the smoke coming out of the chimney.  Make a little spiral with your finger for the small house, a bigger spiral with your hand for the second verse, and a big spiral with your whole arm for the third verse.

Que cuando quiero entrar, yo golpeo así, así. – Make a knocking motion to show how you knock on the door. Make it a small knock the first time, a bigger knock for the middle-sized house, and a big knock for the big house.

Me limpio los zapatos así, así, así.  – Make the motion with your feet of cleaning your shoes. Make the motion small for the small house and make it a bigger motion each time.

There are several versions of this song.  Some use llamo or toco instead of golpeo. This is a reasonable change because golpeo is “I bang” on the door, and llamo or toco is “I knock.” Other versions use lustro los zapatos (I shine my shoes) instead of limpio, and so the action is shining shoes rather than cleaning them to go into the house.  You can see lots of versions done in grade schools in Latin America and Spain by seaching Tengo una casita on YouTube.

This is a link to the version that I teach, but any of them are fun to sing and teach useful Spanish verbs. I have included the lyrics and a translation below.

Children’s song: Yo tengo una casita

Yo tengo una casita / I have a house

que es así y así. / that is like this and like this.

Que por la chimenea / That out of the chimney

sale el humo así, así. / comes smoke like this, like this.

Que cuando quiero entrar, / That when I want to go in,

yo golpeo así, asi. / I bang like this, like this.

Me limpio los zapatos / I clean my shoes

así, así, así. / like this, like this, like this.

This song, Si tú tienes muchas ganas de aplaudir (If you feel a lot like clapping) is the Spanish version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” It reinforces the meaning of the common Spanish phrase tener ganas de + infinitive (to feel like doing something). It also uses actions to teach the meaning of several different Spanish verbs. You can include any verb and an appropriate action that makes the meaning clear.

There are many versions of this song on line.  Click here to hear one Spanish version of If You’re Happy and You Know It.  Here are the Spanish lyrics to this version, and also an English translation for meaning, with no attempt to conserve rhyme or rhythm.

Si tú tienes muchas ganas de aplaudir, / If you feel a lot like clapping,
Si tú tienes muchas ganas de aplaudir, / If you feel a lot like clapping,
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
No te quedes con las ganas de aplaudir. / Don’t hold back the wish to clap.
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you’re right and no one objects,
No te quedes con las ganas de aplaudir. / Don’t hold back the wish to clap.

De aplaudir / To clap
De aplaudir / To clap

Si tú tienes muchas ganas de silbar, / If you feel a lot like whistling,
Si tú tienes muchas ganas de silbar, / If you feel a lot like whistling,
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de silbar. / Don’t be left with the wish to whistle.
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you’re right and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de silbar. / Don’t be left with the wish to whistle.

De aplaudir / To clap
De silbar / To whistle

Si tú tienes muchas ganas de reír, / If you feel a lot like laughing,
Si tú tienes muchas ganas de reír, / If you feel a lot like laughing,
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de reír. / Don’t be left with the wish to laugh.
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de reír. / Don’t be left with the wish to laugh.

De aplaudir / To clap

De silbar / To whistle

Si tú tienes muchas ganas de gritar, / If you feel a lot like shouting,
Si tú tienes muchas ganas de gritar, / If you feel a lot like shouting,
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de gritar. / Don’t be left with the wish to shout.
Si tú tienes la razón y no hay oposición, / If you are right, and no one objects,
no te quedes con las ganas de gritar. / Don’t be left with the wish to shout.

De aplaudir / To clap
De silbar / To whistle
De reír / To laugh
De gritar / To shout

In addition to using tener to talk about what we have, we often use tener to express the way we feel. These are phrases that we use everyday.  Use them with your child to model the verb tener in its different forms.

Comment on how you feel before you ask your child a question in Spanish.  This provides a context for the question, and also models how the question will be answered.For example, you can say Tengo sueño (I’m sleepy) and yawn to clarify what you are saying. Then when you ask ¿Tienes sueño? she will understand what you are asking.

Tener hambre – to be hungry

Tengo hambre.  ¿Tienes hambre tú? / I am hungry.  Are you hungry?

¡Tengo mucha hambre! – I’m very hungry.   (It is mucha because hambre is feminine.)

Tener sed – to be thirsty

Tengo sed. ¿Tienes sed?  ¿Quieres agua?  / I am thirsty.  Are you thirsty?  Do you want some water?

Tengo mucha sed. – I am very thirsty. (It is mucha because sed is feminine).

Tener sueño – to be sleepy

Tengo sueño. Quiero dormir.  ¿Tienes sueño?

Tener ganas de + infinitive– to feel like doing something

¿Qué tienes ganas de hacer? / What do you feel like doing?

Tengo ganas de jugar. ¿Tienes ganas de jugar? /  I feel like playing.  Do you feel like playing?

The first stanza of Los pollitos, a traditional children’s song, offers an excellent example of these phrases.  Learning just those lines, or the entire song, children will produce natural, correct Spanish.

You can listen to this traditional children’s song in Spanish here. There are many other versions online.  Here are the words and a translation of this version.

Los pollitos / The chicks

Los pollitos dicen, / The chicks say

pío, pío, pío,  / pío, pío, pío

cuando tienen hambre, / when they are hungry

cuando tienen frío. / when they are cold.

La gallina busca / The hen looks for

el maíz y el trigo. / corn and wheat.

Les da la comida / She gives them food

y les presta abrigo. / keeps them warm.

Bajo sus dos alas / Under her two wings,

acurrucaditos, / all curled up,

duermen los pollitos / the chicks sleep

hasta el otro día. / until the next day.

Tengo, tengo, tengo, / I have, I have, I have Tú también lo tienes.  / You have it too. Tengo dos ojitos en esta carita. / I have two eyes on this face. (¿Dónde están los ojos?) / (Where are your eyes?) Tengo, tengo, tengo, / I have, I have, I have Tú también lo tienes. / You have it too. Tengo una nariz en esta carita. / I have a nose on this face. (¿Dónde esta la nariz?) /(Where is your nose?) Tengo, tengo, tengo, / I have, I have, I have Tú también lo tienes. / You have it too. Tengo dos orejas en esta carita. / I have two ears on this face. (¿Dónde están las orejas?) / (Where are your ears?) Tengo, tengo, tengo, / I have, I have, I have Tú tambien lo tienes. / You have it too. Tengo una boca en esta carita. / I have a mouth on this face. (¿Dónde está la boca?) / (Where is your mouth?)

Tener (to have) is one of the most common verbs in Spanish.  You can model the use of tengo (I have) and tienes (you have) with many activities and daily interactions.

Card game:

The game “war” in which two players turn over cards and the player with the higher card keeps both is an excellent way to use the verb tener.  The context makes the meaning of the verb clear, and there is lots of repetition.

When you turn over the cards say:

Tengo un tres.  Tienes un ocho.  / I have a three. You have an eight.

Tengo un diez. ¿Qué tienes? Tienes un cinco. / I have a ten. What do you have? You have a five.

When you are done playing, count who has more cards.

¿Cuántas cartas tienes?  / How many cards do you have?

Yo tengo viente cartas.  Tú tienes treinta y dos cartas. / I have twenty cards. You have thirty two cards.

Tú tienes más. Tú ganas. / You have more. You win.

Tengo más.  Yo gano. / I have more. I win.

The name of the face cards varies from country to country, but these terms are used in much of Latin America:

an ace – un as

a king – un rey

a queen – una reina

a jack –  una jota

Daily interactions:

Point to yourself when you use tengo (I have) and to your child when you use tienes (you have) to clarify the change in subject.

You can use a simple Spanish sentence to comment on what each of you have, or you can ask a question, and then answer it with your child.  Use tener in situations like these:

At the table:

Yo tengo agua.  Tú tienes agua también. /  I have water.  You have water too.

As you are getting ready to go outside:

Tengo mis zapatos.  ¿Tienes tus zapatos?  Sí, tienes tus zapatos. / I have my shoes.  Do you have your shoes?  Yes, you have your shoes.

When you are going to read together:

Tengo un libro. ¿Tienes un libro?  Sí, ¡tienes dos libros! / I have a book.  Do you have a book?  Yes, you have two books!

Looking in the mirror:

Yo tengo ojos de color café.  Tú tienes ojos azules. / I have brown eyes.  You have blue eyes.