A place to share books, music, techniques, and all things related to bilingual storytime!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Bilingual Storytime Idea - Opening Song

Every storytime needs a canción para empezar and I wanted to quickly share this cute one that I learned from my colleague Kelly Lamm while working on a job swap at the Beaumont Branch of the Lexington Public Library.  In this song, each child gets to say his or her name which is then used in the song as the group claps out the syllables in each name.  It goes like this:

Her (His) name is _____, _____, _____,
Her (His) name is _____,
What's your name?

This song could very easily be used as an opening song in bilingual storytime as well.  It is so short that you could sing it twice, once in each language.  Or you could blend the languages, singing the first line in one language and the final two in the other.  Here is a Spanish translation for the song:

Se llama _____, _____, _____,
Se llama _____,
Es su nombre.

This opening song could be enhanced with flannel board letters or numbers to make the early literacy component more overt, such as putting the number of syllables being clapped on the flannelboard or identifying the first letter of the child's name.  This would be an appropriate extension for preschool age groups.

I could not find an online file or recorded version of this tune to share, so I quickly (and messily - my apologies!) made my own sheet music for it.  This may be helpful for those of you who can tap it out on a keyboard.  If you'd rather use a PDF version one is available through my Google Docs.


What opening songs do you use for bilingual storytime?

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