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!

Bilingual Nonfiction Book for Earth Day

This Monday, April 22 is el Día de la Tierra, Earth Day.  I recently discovered a book that would be wonderful for marking this holiday in bilingual storytime.  I Love Our Earth / Amo nuestra tierra by Bill Martin, Jr. is a rare find indeed.  It's simple and brief text is lovely in both languages and is short enough to be a perfect storytime choice.  This is sometimes difficult to find in bilingual nonfiction!  The book is illustrated with beautiful photos of real people and real landscapes from around the world.  It would be a nice choice for storytimes on colors and seasons as well.

Spanglish Baby has created a Pinterest pinboard of bilingual Earth Day ideas.  You can can find crafts and printables for celebrating el Día de la Tierra from Primera Escuela as well.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?  Please leave a comment to let us know how it goes if you share this book in your program, have other Earth Day ideas or want to suggest other bilingual nonfiction titles that work well in storytime!