Want a suggested circle time activity to use with preschoolers and early elementary school-aged children for use during counting fun?  Here you are amigas and amigos:

Ask the children if they remember how to count from 1 to 10 in English. Count together using your fingers for visual aides. Then ask if anyone knows how to count from uno a diez (or desde diez) in Spanish and count together again. Have each child take a musical instrument, tell them we will be counting from 1 to 10 in Español e Inglés/Spanish and English, dancing in a circle/circulo and have them follow you, the teacher, around in a dancing circle to sing the song. When it comes time in the song after ten or diez I ask the children to “STOP” “PARA” and make noise/hace ruido until the words begin again. We always have this song as our 2nd one each language session for the same reasons as before.

Would you like some FREE audio clips to hear, read and repeat the numbers in Spanish and English?  Go here to my FREE audio clips section of my web site for helping YOU introduce a second language to your little ones!

Our friends over at OnLineFreeSpanish.com have lots & lots of lesson fun associated with counting in Spanish.  Go to their site - it’s free to use.

I suggest you make a counting book after listening to our Boca Beth bilingual song for kids titled Me gusta contar/I Like to Count!  It’s easy to do and will help to reinforce the language learning fun!

Go to this link for a bilingual coloring page that shows the numbers one – five or uno-cinco. 

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

P.S.  (Make a bilingual book with your child, snap a photo, e-mail the photo to me at BocaBeth@msn.com, and I will mail you a Boca Beth children’s t-shirt for your efforts!  Hurry!  We want to see YOUR bilingual books!)

Doesn’t matter if I am babysitting a friend’s infant, visiting a toddler room at a local preschool, singing with a bunch of Pre-Kindergarten children or holding a community concert with families whose children are all ages ….every time I bring out my animal puppets and begin our Animal Song from our first Boca Beth bilingual music CD the squeals of excited learning and laughter begin!

Here are the lyrics to our song about animales/animals.  

You know the beat of the song  The Bear Went Over the Mountain. 

You can start singing this today with your little ones! 

Need a little help?  Fear not!  Tomorrow you can come back to this same blog and enjoy the YouTube video where I use those same puppets I just spoke about!  Have fun singing acappella my friends!

The Animal Song/La canción de animales
(sung to the tune of “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”)

Hay un perro afuera,
Hay un perro afuera, 
Hay un perro afuera,
¡El dice woof!

There is a dog outside,
There is a dog outside, 
There is a dog outside, 
He says woof!

Hay un gato afuera,
Hay un gato afuera,
Hay un gato afuera,
¡El dice meow!

There is a cat outside,
There is a cat outside,
There is a cat outside,
He says meow!

(Continue with pato/duck/quack…vaca/cow/moo…caballo/horse/neigh…
mono/monkey/ooh-ooh…pájaro/bird/tweet)

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth

Ahh…I love my Irish roots!

Mama would love being alive today, having Happy Hour just a little early, and sharing her Irish blessing with those within earshot.  I know she is in Heaven, looking down on all four of her kids (I am the baby!) and so proud of each of us for leading such rewarding lives.

In honor of my mom and St. Patrick’s Day we will offer FREE standard domestic shipping today and throughout the rest of March 2009 on our Boca Beth fun and easy to use bilingual products for kids. 

Happy Educating!  ¡Sea feliz educando!

Boca Beth