Doy gracias por mis amigos por que me gusta jugar.

Doy gracias por la musica por que me gusta cantar

Doy gracias por mi maestra por que me gustar aprender

Doy gracias por la comida por que me encanta comer

Doy gracias por mi familia y tambien por la amistad

El dia de accion de gracias nos trae felizidad

I’m thankful for all of my friends because you know we love to play

I’m thankful for the food that I eat each and every day

I’m thankful for music because you know I love to sing

I’m thankful for my teachers because they teach so many things

I’m thankful for my family and the love they’re always bringing!

and I’m happy I get to see them on this day of Thanksgiving! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Of course, everyone knows “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”  Such a great, action-filled song!  The Barefoot Books version of the song is both a book and a singalong CD, written by  Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Sophie Fatus, and sung by Susan Reed.  What you might not immediately notice is that this publication is a multicultural gem.  Not only are the illustrations filled with images of children from around the world, but the last verse is “If You’re Happy and You Know It Shout Hello” . . . and then children learn 36 ways to say Hello.  Bonjour, Hola, Oi, Ai, Jambo, Sawubona, Selam, Dag, Buongiorno, and more.  Pretty cool, huh?

Brand new from Barefoot Books is this Children of the World Matching Game with the same whimsical, international illustrations from the book.  Children match the boy and girl pairs according to traditional dress, country, and color.

These products offer a fun, engaging way to introduce languages to young children.  Five stars!

Congratulations are in order for Whistlefritz!  I recently reviewed their most recent Spanish CD for children, Cha, Cha, Cha. You can read my post here.  I’m pleased to share the exciting news that Cha, Cha, Cha is now officially an award-winning CD!

Dr. Toy named Cha, Cha, Cha one of the Best Audio-Visual products of 2010 and 100 Best Children’s Products of 2010.  Dr. Toy called Cha, Cha, Cha a “colorful, clever collection” and a “great way to expand vocabulary and become bilingual.”  You can read the full review here.

And that’s not all . . . Parents’ Choice Awards gave Cha, Cha, Cha their “Recommended” award.  They praised the CD as “a load of fun . . . makes learning Spanish exhilarating and alive.”  Read the full review here.

If your children or students are learning Spanish, Cha, Cha, Cha is a must-have. To purchase, click: Cha, Cha, Cha — Spanish Learning Songs Canciones Infantiles

Congratulations Whistlefritz!

Earlier this week I posted a very successful preschool French lesson about trains.  As promised, I’d like to share the song I created as part of the lesson.  It’s to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

The first verse is about the conductor shouting “All aboard!”  Hold your hands up to face to mimic the shout.  The second verse is the traditional wheels going round and round, just like the bus!  For the third verse, have the children stand in a line, hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them.  Make a human train while singing Tchou!  Tchou!  Tchou! The last line of every verse is “Sur la voie ferrée”–”On the railroad track.”

Le Petit Train

Le chef de train crie “En voiture!  En voiture!  En voiture!”

Le chef de train crie “En voiture!”

Sur la voie ferrée.

Les roues du train tournent et tournent, tournent et tournent, tournent et tournent

Les roues du train tournent et tournent

Sur la voie ferrée.

Le petit train fait tchou, tchou, tchou

Tchou, tchou, tchou

Tchou, tchou, tchou

Le petit train fait tchou, tchou, tchou

Sur la voie ferrée.

Listen and enjoy!

Image by clipart.com

I have a 2/3 year old mom-tot group of French learners, mostly boys.  Well, if there’s one thing this set is crazy about, it’s TRAINS!  Today I’d like to post a few ideas for a train-themed French or Spanish lesson.  It incorporates hands-on activities & play, TPR, trains vocabulary & verbs, numbers, colors, and culture.

First, begin with your usual circle time warm-up.  Mine includes a hello song, greeting a puppet, ball toss, how are you? song, and TPR.  Next, it’s time to establish the theme of TRAINS.  You can pick and choose from the following list of activities for a couple of days:

TOY TRAIN PLAY: I pulled out my kids’ old wooden train set.  Mine’s from Ikea, but any will do!  Include a track with a hill if possible.  My little ones counted tracks, helped put it together, counted train cars, and identified colors.  Then each child had a turn pushing the train around the track while reinforcing verbs.  I would narrate:  Le petit train roule, monte, descend. (Roll along, go up, go down.)  Tons of repetitions with a lot of expression!  I was also able to scrounge up a toy train station, so we could talk about arriving at and leaving the station.  If you don’t have a toy station, you could make one.

BUILD A NUMBERS, DAYS, COLOR PATTERN, OR ALPHABET TRAIN: I printed, colored, cut, and laminated a locomotive and several train freight cars.  My cars had numbers 1-10, but you can also use days of the week, alphabet, or create color or shape patterns.  After a demo, mix up the cards, pass them out to the children, and help them to build a train in the correct order.  Here are a few free printables out there on the web that you can use:

Le train de la semaine from Tomlitoo.com

Le train de la semaine & des mois from Maternelle de Moustache (Look up T)

Alphabet Train from First-School.ws

You can also find a Spanish numbers & alphabet train at PrimeraEscuela.com.  Type a search for “tren.”

I used this blank train printable from teteamodeler.com, printed the number of freight cars I needed, and customized the content myself.

TRAIN VOCABULARY SLIDE SHOW: I made this PowerPoint to introduce train vocabulary.  It can easily be adapted for Spanish or you can create your own.  I teach completely in the target language, so I reinforced a lot of concepts on each slide (counting wheels, identifying colors, etc.)  The expressions I used include:  train, locomotive, conductor, tracks, station, whistle, freight/passenger car.  I wouldn’t use all of the vocabulary at once on Day 1 . . . just a few at a time.  Print the PowerPoint slides into small flash cards for the following games, or create your own flash cards.

EITHER/OR IDENTIFICATION: Place two or three picture flash cards on the floor and give a student a pointer, magic wand, or fly swatter (IF you are confident in the child’s self-control!)  Say a word and help the child to point to it.  Cheer a lot and keep this activity completely NON-competitive!

GUESSING GAME: Place all of the cards upside down.  Take a card, but don’t let the children see it.  Describe it in the target language and see if they can guess!

MATCHING GAME: Print two sets of flashcards and place them face down on the floor.  Children take turns flipping over two cards as you help them to identify them in the target language.  Ask if the cards are the same or different.  Take out matches once you find them.  Make this a full-group activity . . . children do not keep their matches.  There are NO winners or losers.

STORY TIME: Share a simple book about trains in the target language.  Here are a few suggestions:
Mon petit train avec Mimi

Ou Est Mon Train (Les Tout-Doux Usborne) (French Edition) (Price is really high . . . maybe available from a reseller somewhere??)

Ada y Max viajan en tren (Ada y Max series)

OSITO O TREN? (Elige La Cara! / Pick & Choose) (Spanish Edition)

Este No Es Mi Tren: Tiene Las Ruedas Lisas (Toca, Toca!) (Spanish Edition)

RHYMES AND SONGS: Sing a song about trains.  I made up a simple song to the tune of “The Wheels of the Bus.”  We called “All Aboard!”, turned our wheels of the train, and formed an actual train going “Tchou! Thou!”  I’ll include a podcast-linked post with the French song one day really soon.  You can do a Google search for train rhymes and songs from the target culture or make up your own.

Edited Oct. 15:  Here’s the French Little Train Song!

CULTURE: One of the biggest hits of the lesson was simply watching this short YouTube clip of the TGV in France.  The kids were fascinated seeing the trains from both the inside and the outside.

THOMAS LE TRAIN: Of course, if you’re a preschool boy you’ve probably encountered Thomas with either fanatic obsession or at least mild interest.  Do a YouTube search for short Thomas clips in French or Spanish.  This French Thomas clip includes nice counting and colors practice.

COLORING SHEETS: Free train coloring sheets abound online!  I created my own Train French Coloring here with labels in the target language.  Happy to share!

Hope this post has provided you with some nice ideas for creating a train themed lesson in French or Spanish.

Tchou! Tchou!

Image by clipart.com

My kids and I have been dancing to Spanish this summer!  Whistlefritz has just released a new CD–Cha, Cha, Cha! The folksongs and original songs are recorded and arranged by award-winning singer/songwriter Jorge Anaya.  What I really love is the feeling of the music.  Culture is infused into every beat . . . be it samba, merengue, reggae, or more.  It truly “sets the mood” for language learning.

I’m a HUGE  believer in using music to aid language acquisition and memory.  As a French teacher myself, I can’t imagine even one class session without traditional songs, melodies for memory, or cultural music.  Whistlefritz’s Cha, Cha, Cha! has it all.  And while the music stands on its own as something great to listen to and enjoy, the inherent language lessons introduce kids to numbers, months of the year, days of the week, and more . . . in an immersion setting!   As a novice-level Spanish learner myself, I was grateful for the lyrics/translations included with the CD.

You can listen to some clips here. My favorite is the first track, El Barco Chiquito.  The kids love La Cucaracha.   And singing days and numbers has never been more fun.  The vocabulary is clear, comprehensible, and catchy!

Cha, Cha, Cha! is perfect for Spanish teachers to use in their classrooms, and for moms to use at home or in the car.  Gracias Whistlefritz

I had to do a quick post here on the ‘ol blog because there was some “foreign language fun” in the film.  (I won’t say any more than that!)  Check out the new Spanish theme song by the Gypsy Kings:

You’ve Got a Friend in me – Hay un amigo in mi

Win a fun children’s Spanish CD by 123 Spanish Together.  Your children will be dancing, singing, and learning Spanish in no time!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post at Wanna Jugar With Migo?

Contest ends Thursday, June 24, 2010. Buena suerta

I reviewed the Sing-a-Lingo Spanish CD’s several weeks ago in this post.  The music continues to be a favorite in our home!  And we the bedtime singable book is beyond adorable!  If you don’t have your own Sing-a-Lingo CD yet, now is the time to save with some fantastic deals.

From now until May 31st, if you purchase the En Mi Casa CD from Amazon and post a review, the folks from Sing-a-Lingo will send you their Lyric Cards To-Go ($12.99 value) for free. Also, If you purchase the In My House CD and post a review, they will send you Good Night Friends Singable Book ($12.99 value) for Free.

The Sing-a-Lingo store is now available on Facebook. Become a fan of Sing-A-Lingo (I am!) and get 15% off your entire purchase. Offer ends May 31st.