I think this is a wonderful Spanish song for kids to sing as Mother’s Day approaches. It is called Yo solito Mamá (By myself, Mama) and is by Rossana Conte of Torreon, Mexico. The song has lots of simple verb forms. It also has vocabulary that children hear right away as they start to learn Spanish. The song is about wanting to be independent, a feeling that all children can identify with. Unfortunately, the song [...]
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 [...]
Los pollitos is a printable story and coloring book of a traditional children’s song. In addition to the story-coloring pages, it has figures for stick puppets, picture cards for games and a teacher and parent guide with ideas for using the material and additional activities. The song is available to download from Music with Sara, and there is a YouTube video of the song with the illustrations. I had a wonderful time collaborating with illustrator [...]
1, 2, 3 Momia Es is a playground game kids play in South America. In Mexico, the same game is called 1, 2, 3 Calabaza. In Spain, it is 1,2,3 Escondite Inglés and in English it is Red Light, Green Light. Elizabeth Carmona of Chile has written a very fun song called 1, 2, 3 Momia Es that incorporates parts of this familiar game. In the traditional game, one player faces a wall or a [...]
Josefina la gallina is a Spanish song for kids by Elizabeth Carmona of Chile. She creates entertaining and educational programs for Atiempopreescolar, a division of the studio ATiempo dedicated to preschool programing. Her program Juguemos en el campo was awared first place in the contest Juegos musicales para la primera infancia organized by Chile Crece Contigo, Consejo de la Música and Unicef. Josefina la gallina is a very active song. It is an excellent way [...]
Colores is a Spanish song for children written and sung by Patty Shukla. The song gets kids up and moving as they practice their colors in Spanish. Patty Shukla writes and sings fun, educational songs for children. Although most of her music is in English, she has also recorded a CD of Spanish songs for kids called Canta y Baila con Patty. You can find out more about her music on the Patty Shukla website [...]
Los conejos (The rabbits) is a Spanish song for kids with lots of movement. Students learn it in preschool and elementary school in many Spanish-speaking countries. My younger students love to jump and pretending to be a rabbit is the perfect reason to jump around and sing in Spanish. I like to teach this song because the words and the actions correspond so closely. Students move closer as they sing cerquita and farther away as [...]
Kids in elementary school love music, but many of them are no longer interested in traditional childrens’ songs in Spanish. Rather, they have moved on to popular music with contemporary rhythms and themes that revolve around friends. Choosing popular Spanish songs for kids can be difficult though, because much of the content is directed to young adults and adults. One source of fun music that is appropriate for kids in elementary and middle school is [...]
The San Francisco Public Library has a page with five children’s songs in Spanish. All of the songs are also finger plays or have actions. The page refers to them as cuentos, or stories, and indeed they are the first little stories that many Spanish speakers learn. Three of the songs are very traditional: Cinco lobitos, Pin Pon and Tortillitas para Mamá. La araña pequeñita (The Itsy, Bitsy Spider) and Osito, osito (Teddy Bear, Teddy [...]
This Spanish song and dance are a fun, active way to teach children the words izquierda, derecha, adelante, and detrás. La yenka was first popular as a dance for adults in the sixties and then recorded for children in the eighties by Enrique y Ana. Since then it has been recorded by many children’s artists in Latin America and Spain. It is included in lots of collections of canciones infantiles, or children’s songs in Spanish. [...]
Cantaré, a group based in the Washington D.C. area, performs and records songs in Spanish for children. Led by vocalist Cecilia Esquivel, Cantaré offers a wonderful combination of accessible language and fabulous music to Spanish language learners. You can learn more about Cecilia Esquivel and Cantaré on their website. The award-winning CD ¡Al agua pato! includes traditional childen’s songs, tongue twisters and original compositions. If you are a parent or teacher of children learning Spanish [...]
In these songs from the Sing ‘n Speak Spanish curriculum, music and lyrics come together for fun, effective language learning. If you have a child who loves learning Spanish, or a classroom full of them, these songs are going to be a hit. The CDs are part of the curriculum, but they are also sold separately. There is a list of the song titles and the grammar points they deal with at the end of [...]