Canciones para storytime

 At my library we have to do read alouds and since I speak Spanish I am responsible for a class of Spanish-speaking students. Prior to doing this I did a Spanish (not bilingual) storytime and over time I developed a repertoire of engaging songs, rhymes and finger plays to use. I will share some of them in this blog.

A classic in many languages is the Itsy Bitsy spider. This is a cute version and I like how the singer is very engaging as she sings the song, with silly sounds and hand movements galore.  For a bit of a twist on the song I could see one using a spider puppet or prop to really provide a good visual.

Jose Luis Orozco has cd after cd replete with songs for every occasion. Los elefantes is one of my favorite rhymes for children and I like it because you can use it as an action song to get kids up and moving around. Feel free to use some of these elephant prop masks or make some yourself with paper plates for example.

Another action rhyme that never fails me is El chocolate. Use the cd version or sing it yourself. I like to do exaggerated movements for the songs as the kids really get into it. The version I linked to is just one version and I know that Mr. Orozco has several. It is good to be able to switch things up as necessary so try to learn as many versions as possible.

 Back in my teaching days one of my colleagues swore that her older students would ask her to do this song that they learned back in kinder and 1st grade, such was their affection for the song.  Juguemos en el bosque is a good song in that it builds suspense, can be used to teach various vocabulary words (clothes, body parts etc.) and is just plain fun. The version here is a bit slower paced but as usual feel free to modify and adjust.

This next song is called El loro Tico Tango and to me it is more appropriate for preschool aged kids especially if you are going to use it as a flannel board as I have done. The actual cd (which comes as part of a book) has the song. The song may be a bit long so feel free to modify, skip parts etc. I found an excerpt here.  I like how the overall message of the song is sharing and caring for ones friends.

I will finish this blog with my personal favorite, Mi cuerpo as done by my namesake Josh Levine. It is a simple song to get kids up and shaking their hips and is a good break especially if you are in a storytime an the kids have been sitting for a while. Here is another bilingual version of the song. I find however that the English part lacks a little bit of the catchiness but it is still good nonetheless.

Hasta luego!!