If I could choose one song for my university students learn as children, it might be this one. In addition to correct Spanish pronunciation and useful vocabulary, it exposes children to several key structures that are much more difficult to learn later.
These are just a few examples of the Spanish that children learn as they listen to and sing this song:
Correct pronunciation of the words ahora and hacia – The “h” is silent.
Useful vocabulary with the meaning supported by actions
adelante – forward
atrás – backward
el coche – car
correr – to run
despacio – slow
el lado- side
la nube- cloud
el pez- fish
el tren – train
The structure ser + noun – The uses of ser and estar, the two Spanish verbs for “to be,” are difficult for students of Spanish to master. One of these uses is ser before a noun. Every time a child sings soy un coche, soy un pez, soy la nube or soy un tren they are practicing this structure. Later they will apply it to other vocabulary and situations.
Moverse – The reflexive verb moverse (used with the pronoun, me muevo) is different than the verb mover, which has a direct object (muevo el cuerpo).
Dolerse – This verb that has the same structure as gustar (me duele un pie).
Sin parar – The infinitive of a verb is used after a preposition in Spanish.
Of course, children have to hear and use these structures in other contexts in order to master them, but this song is an excellent place to start!
Click here to listen to this Spanish song with actions. You can download the song from Amazon – Yo me muevo.
These are the lyrics and a word-for-word translation (provided for meaning, with no attempt to maintain the rhythm or rhyme).
Yo me muevo hacia delante / I move forward
yo me muevo hacia atrás / I move backward
hacia un lado, hacia el otro / to one side, to the other
muevo el cuerpo sin parar. / I move my body without stopping.
Ahora soy un coche: rum, rum, rum / Now I’m a car: room, room, room
Ahora soy un pez: shh, shh, shh / Now I’m a fish: shh, shh, shh
Ahora soy la nube: fff, fff, fff / Now I’m a cloud: fff, fff, fff
Ahora soy un tren: chu, chu, chu / Now I’m a train: choo, choo, choo.
Yo me muevo hacia delante / I move forward
yo me muevo hacia atrás / I move backward
hacia un lado, hacia el otro / to one side, to the other
muevo el cuerpo sin parar. / I move my body without stopping.
Ahora voy despacio: mm, mm, mm / Now I go slowly: mm, mm, mm
Ahora correré: uuu / Now I will run: weeee…
Ahora voy cojeando: cha, cha, cha / Now I’m limping: cha, cha, cha
Porque me duele un pie: ay, ay, ay / Because my foot hurts.
rebecca
Mar 25, 2015
my parents want me to teach their toddlers Spanish at church. I know just enough to get by, speaking not so much. this looks great.