A mi burro a mi burro
Caballito blanco
El cocodrilo
La bella naranja
La danza de la serpiente
La foca
Ramona
Mirad, mirad allí
Un elefante se balanceaba
Last updated: 4/21/2015
2:10 PM
The songs below are part of ‘‘La pajara pinta’ The Spanish collection
compiled, adapted, translated and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home
page
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You
are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the
following conditions:
·
you must give the original author credit
·
you may not use this work for commercial purposes
·
for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the
licence terms of this work
·
any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder
Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
The
Spanish Collection
It is said that children who are exposed to just 50
words of a second language before to age six begin to develop an
"ear" for the sounds of that language.
It is hoped that where
possible these songs will be sung in their home language. An English version is
provided so children can enjoy the tunes before they have mastered Spanish.
Literal translations do not always make sense to the English ear so these have
been translated freely (very freely in some cases!) to complement the music and
capture the spirit of each song.
You will find more Spanish
songs in the collection ‘Away We Go’.
Spanish
pronunciation
Spoken
Spanish in both Spain and Latin America is quite distinctive from spoken
English. For that reason a few lyrics are accompanied by the sounds of the
Spanish language. The more distinctive sounds of letters in the words of the
songs are provided to aid pronunciation in the guide below. The letters not
listed are pronounced approximately as in English.
a sounds like ah (father) as
in madre
i sounds like ee (feet) as
in mi
e sounds like e (met) at the beginning or within a word as in leche
e sounds like ay at the end of a word as in leche
o sounds like oa (boat) as
in no
u sounds like oo (boot) as
in una
c sounds like th before the letters i and e as in cinco
cc sounds like ks (accident) as in accidente
j and g sounds like ch (loch) as in juego and girafa
g sounds like h (hallo)
before the letters i
and e as in gente
ll sounds like y (yard) as
in llamas
ñ sounds like ni (onions) as in señorita
qu sounds like k as
in ¿qué?
rr sounds like a Scottish r as
in arroz
v sounds
like b as in vaca
z sounds
like th (thin)
as
in arroz
h is always silent unless the word is of foreign origin
u is silent after g
and q as
in ¿qué?
In Spain ‘d’ is spoken with a lisp, this is not so
in Latin America.
There are many sites on line
that provide help with pronunciation
Spanish
punctuation
Written
Spanish in both Spain and Latin America is also distinctive from written
English; fewer capitals are used at the beginning of each line of verse,
exclamation and question marks are used both at the beginning and end of
sentences. However, for familiarity I have usually conformed to the English
model when writing Spanish verse.
Poor old
donkey, he has aches and pains everywhere. Recognise the Spanish names of
body part in this cumulative song; add more of your own. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBHRx2PifOg&feature=related March on the
spot and touch parts of the body each time they are mentioned
|
This cradle song,
‘Little white horse’ has the same tune as ‘Los pollitos
dicen’ another nursery favourite. Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owwWIEosUt8&feature=related Gallop freely
in and out of each other.
|
El
cocodrilo
O What was it the crocodile
saw when he poked his head out of the cave? Let your imagination blossom. Listen to Miriam at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgnqIr_bVc&feature=related
|
La bella
naranja
O This traditional children’s
nursery rhyme from Argentina can be sung as a round. Could the lion and the king be
symbolic and linked to coins of the realm? The ‘worm’ however is a creative
translation conceit! Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRU7hCiCYXU
|
La danza de la serpiente O Poor old snake,
he’s come down from the mountain to look for his long lost tail. This game is
great fun but requires careful co-operation skills. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rBlhSs5jXg Make a circle
with snake in the centre.
|
La foca Ramona O We’re off to
the circus to make big stretchy movements. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0h1lEdQzvE Spread out around the room.
|
Mirad, mirad
allí O Stand in a circle and sing
the song through with the actions below. Second time hum (mmmmmh)
words of first phrase then sing and continue actions as before. Each time the
song is repeated replace cumulatively each phrase with humming until the
whole song is being hummed and mimed. Last time sing all words of the song
with the actions. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDM1-dakTVM
|
Un elefante se balanceaba O Learn Spanish number names
with this traditional singing game. Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQBX2XMBIFo
Practice walking heel to toe
in time to the music before attempting this game as these movements demand a
high level of physical control. You will need plenty of room and a safe
surface on which to fall at the end of the song! Make a large circle with 2
or 3 leaders inside.
|
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