Antonio Selfa Molina is a performer and composer from Spain. He is also a teacher. Last year, he recorded Spanish poems for children set to his music. These poems are by some of the great poets of Spanish literature, including Lope de Vega, Amado Nervo, and Nicolás Guillen. There are also poems by well-known contemporary writers like Pedro Villar and Floria Jiménez. Several of these Spanish poems for children can be used effectively with language [...]
¡Qué tan grande era todo cuando yo era chico! is a Spanish poem for children. It uses basic vocabulary that is appropriate for beginning Spanish language learners and is excellent exposure to the imperfect tense. This poem is about the sensation children have that the world around them is getting smaller as they grow. Many kids remember when they could not reach the counter or the faucet, for example. The poem is by the well-known [...]
Douglas Wright is a well-known author and illustrator from Argentina. Among his many talents, he writes poems for children in Spanish. I use his poetry with Spanish language learners because the language is accessible, the poems are from a child’s point of view and children identify with feelings and experiences. They also have rhythm and rhyme so that they are wonderful to listen to and fun to recite. Mi casa está viva has familiar vocabulary, [...]
I wrote this rhyme to read with children learning Spanish. Kids help tell the story by providing phrases based on the pictures in the text. The story is really a simple Spanish poem for kids and the rhythm and rhyme help children predict the words. I wrote the counting rhyme Un paseo por el parque to use with my preschool students. Each of the pictures represents a number and an object – un árbol, dos [...]
This Spanish poem for children is titled Una casa con un sol. It uses familiar, conversational language to describe the way sunlight enters and brightens a house. It is a summer poem with basic vocabulary that Spanish language learners understand. Una casa con un sol is by the well-known Argentine author and illustrator Douglas Wright. His books are hard to get in the United States, but he generously shares his work on his blog El [...]
There are lots of versions of The Itsy Bitsy Spider in Spanish. The lyrics are fairly close to the English, although in some versions the spider is spinning her web or climbing a wall when the rain comes. La araña pequeñita, La itzi bitzi araña, Winsy, winsy araña and Wichi, wichi araña are just a few of the names this song or finger play has in Spanish. I include the lyrics to three common versions [...]
This lovely Spanish song, Hola buen día, día is wonderful for children learning the language. The song is a poem by Douglas Wright, a well-known author and illustrator from Argentina. Douglas is also a musician and performer. He has set the poem to music and shares the song on his blog El Jardín de Douglas. I wrote an article about using the poem Hola buen día, día with Spanish language learners in November. Douglas Wright [...]