¡Canta con alegría!

I strive to incorporate Spanish movement songs into every bilingual storytime. This helps develop phonological awareness, provides an easy way to remember new Spanish words and phrases, and helps get the wiggles out of the little ones! I have found that some otherwise wonderful Spanish songs, however, are too advanced for a bilingual storytime. Those with less developed skills in Spanish have trouble following along. These are my favorite Spanish and bilingual songs which I have found to work very well in bilingual storytime.

By Dr. Jean Feldman on Ole! Ole! Ole! Dr. Jean en Español

• "Hola amigo" This is my standard opening song. Great for preschool and kindergarten children.
• "Tu ti ta" Super silly!

By José-Luis Orozco

• "Pajarito" on Canto y Cuento. Kids sing, jump, fly, eat, drink and sleep like a bird.
• "Ruedas del camión" on Diez Deditos. "Wheels on the Bus" in Spanish. Even though this song is all in Spanish, bilingual groups can follow along easily, as kids who don't understand Spanish will still recognize the song. Good idea to quickly go over the motions before starting the song.
• "El chocolate" on De Colores. Traditional rhyme from Latin America. Great for phonological awareness! I like to spell CHO-CO-LA-TE out on the feltboard before singing the chant.
• "La araña pequeñita" on De Colores. "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in Spanish. This is a nice one for toddlers too.

By Sarah Jordan on Bilingual Preschool English-Spanish
These songs are a bit of a mouthful, as they are all bilingual. However, they are great fun! These songs would probably work very well in a tandem style bilingual storytime, with one presenter singing along in each language. Or, if you are not bilingual, sing along in English and let the CD do the Spanish. This is a very low pressure way to add español to your storytime!

• "Follow the leader/Sigue al líder" Gallop like a horse, waddle like a duck, hop like a frog, and fly like a bird. Great for farm themes or to get those kids up and moving! Works best for preschool and school age kids.
• "Groovin' and Movin'/Ritmo y movimiento" Who are los chicos más animados?

Another great standby when the wiggles start creeping in is an impromptu version of "Cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies"..."Heads, shoulders, knees and toes" in Spanish! Mix it up by going really slowly and then very fast. Don't forget the ojos, orejas, boca, nariz!

What music do you find works well in bilingual storytime? Do you also use any of these songs?