Saco una manito (I take out one hand) is a perfect Spanish song or finger play for toddlers and preschoolers. It is also known as Las manitas and is one of the first songs that many Spanish-speaking children learn. In Mexico and Spain, the diminutive of la mano (hand) is la manita. In those countries, the song is sung with la manita instead of la manito. This Spanish song teaches children the words sacar (to [...]
Finger puppets are a great way for preschoolers to practice Spanish greetings. These are often some of the first words and phrases they learn. You can teach Spanish greetings as short conversations. This is something I do starting the first day of class and kids love it. Children can make a puppet talk to another student’s puppet, or they can use two hands and make two finger puppets talk to each other. Kids in the [...]
Juguemos en el bosque is one of my favorite picture books to read to children learning Spanish. It teaches Spanish clothes vocabulary and it really makes kids laugh. The book is based on the traditional game and song Juguemos en el bosque. You can read a post about the game and hear the song here: Fun game reinforces Spanish clothes vocabulary. The book is illustrated by Monica Bergna and published by Ekaré as part of [...]
Songs are a good way for children to learn the days of the week in Spanish. If they understand the concept of the week in English, they are learning new labels. As they apply the words to their daily activities they will learn the words at a deeper level, but songs are a good way to start. Here are two songs that work well to teach the Spanish days of the week. The first focuses [...]
This great Christmas video by Mother Goose Club was released today! Navidad, Navidad is to the tune of Jingle Bells and kids will love it. The video is darling and the words are on the screen – a perfect sing-along for any age! This is the link to the Spanish Christmas song and video. Also, Mother Goose Club is offering a free download of the music from Navidad, Navidad this week only to their friends on FaceBook. If you like their page, it will give you [...]
A music teacher for the Spanish immersion program in Glendale, California sent me this video to share on Spanish Playground. This is a song that Sara’s kinder students wrote last year. As she says, there are not that many Thanksgiving songs, and fewer still in Spanish! Read more about Sara and her songs in Spanish for kids. Her CD of Spanish songs for kids is also available on cdbaby. The words to the song follow [...]
Este dedito compró un huevito (this little finger, or toe, bought an egg) is a Spanish rhyme that you say as you play with a child’s fingers or toes. It is a traditional rhyme and one of the most common games to play with little children. It is perfect for preschoolers and older kids too because it has lots of rhythm and great verbs. Older kids can do it as a finger play. This rhyme [...]
I just watched the Whistlefritz Spanish for Kids DVD – Las estaciones. It is so well done! I am going to explain why I liked it, in detail, but I understand that some of you want just the basics and to know if the product is a good investment. The DVD is intended to introduce kids ages 2-7 to basic Spanish related to the seasons. María is explaining to her friend Fritzi the mouse when [...]
At the end of my last post, I mentioned a video of a clapping game with cups called Escatumbararibê. The game is from Brazil and the song has nonsense words. The video I recommended is a version of Escatumbararibê combined with a traditional juego de manos, a clapping game, called Los hermanos de Juan. A reader requested the lyrics to the song in the video, so here they are. ¡A jugar! Zum zum zum Escatumbararibê [...]
This catchy song and video teach the Spanish numbers 1-10. The video shows the numbers as kids hear and sing them, so they are associating the words with the written numerals. Singing is also great Spanish pronunciation practice. This song is mostly numbers, but I like it because there is other language too. The numbers are incorporated into normal Spanish structures with a few useful words. Kids will learn that empieza means start, and that meaning [...]
Children learning Spanish will identify with Juan, the little boy in this song who protests that it is too early to get up for school. Arriba, Juan is a traditional song in the form of a conversation between Juan and his mother. It is fun to have different people or groups sing the two voices. This is a great song for kids who are learning to roll the rr. Because they are singing and moving [...]
There are several Spanish versions of London Bridge, the British children’s song. In Spanish it is called Este puente va a caer or Este puente se cayó. The tune of all the versions is the same, and the meaning is similar, with slight variations. The familiar tune and ideas make it easier to teach the song to Spanish language learners. Many children also know the game that goes with the song, where they make a [...]