Thanksgiving Storytime Ideas / Ideas para el Día de Acción de Gracias

November is here and I enjoy presenting storytimes that celebrate family and gratitude in the lead up to Thanksgiving.  I thought I would share some of my favorite materials for such bilingual or Spanish program.

Rhymes and Flannelboard

I previously posted my translation of "Five Little Turkeys/Cinco pavos," but I am re-sharing it today with a flannel for this week's Flannel Friday roundup.

Five Little Turkeys
Five little turkeys standing at the door,
one waddled off, and then there were four.
Four little turkeys sitting near a tree,
one waddled off, and then there were three.
Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
one waddled off, and then there were two.
Two little turkeys in the morning sun,
one waddled off, and then there was one.
One little turkey better run away,
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

Cinco pavos
Acerca de la puerta son cinco pavos
Uno se salió, y ahora son cuatro.
Cuatro pavos gordos huelen a los postres
Uno se salió y ahora son tres.
Tres pequeños pavos saltan unos saltos
Uno se salió y ahora son dos.
Dos pavos nerviosos esperan su oportuno
Uno se salió y ahora solo hay uno.
Un pavo queda este día importuno.                                      
Cuando el se sale, ¡no hay ninguno!

Find a PDF of the flannel pieces which you can use as a pattern to create your own on Slideshare.

Books

Movement Song - "Al pavo pavito"

This movement song is also a fun game that is sort of similar to musical chairs.  As explained on Mama Lisa's World:  "This game needs an odd number of children. They dance in a circle. At the end of the song, they count '1, 2, 3' and they gather two by two. The one remaining alone is shouted at with 'Pavo, pavo'. In Spanish, 'pavo' means 'turkey', but it also means 'silly', 'idiotic'."  Though that description may sound a little extreme, the game is actually quite fun, especially with school-age children or mixed-age family audiences in which the parents are participating. This song is from Spain, and I honestly don't know how popular it is in Latin America.  If someone could shed some light on this in the comments, that would be great!  Check out the video below for a video demonstration and the lyrics to the song. 

Extra Activities

Check out this great post from Spanglish Baby with ideas on crafts and games for Thanksgiving, as well as linked printables.

I hope this gives you some ideas for a November bilingual/Spanish storytime!  If you have more suggestions, please share them with us in the comments!