Mi guitarrí, Spanish Songs for Kids

2011-10-12T20:19:00.001-07:00

Bring your feet, we are going to dance to Spanish music

2010-11-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Do you need a song that reviews basic vocabulary and gives you a chance to introduce action verbs? You are going to love Traigan sus pies by Joel Valle from our Mi guitarrí: Spanish songs for kids CD.

Here's a song that encourages students to bring:

their feet to play,
their mouths to sing,
their ears to listen,
their eyes to look,
their hands to clap
their bodies to dance.

Guess what? Once you've sung along with Joel, you'll be able to make up your own verses. What fun! Some our our favorite additional verses include:

Traigan sus kayaks que vamos a remar.

A todos los niños les gusta remar.

Yo remo, yo remo, yo remo sin parar. (X2)

Hispanic Heritage Month

2010-09-16T14:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! This years theme is "Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor: The Renewed Hope of America." According to Wikipedia, Hispanic Heritage Month "is the period when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture."

Use http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/ as a resource to find out more about National Hispanic Heritage Month. I also encourage you to check your local listings for events happening between now and October 15th.

Happy Learning!

School is in session!

2010-09-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again. Whether in public or private school, Homeschool or preschool everyone has school on the brain. Learning is in the air. Parents and educators are always looking for new material to keep learning fun.

While watching my 3-year-old daughter and nephew dance around to the Mi Guitarrí Spanish for kids DVD yesterday, I was reminded how easily kids learn! It’s so much fun for them to learn the Spanish alphabet, Spanish days of the week, Spanish months, colors, etc when it’s to music. Even if they aren’t singing the songs, they are being exposed to another language and culture. As a parent who isn’t fluent in another language it is so important to me that my children begin learning a second language now.

To learn more about the Mi Guitarrí Spanish resources for kids go to www.miguitarri.com.

Praise for a Great Spanish Kids Music CD

2010-05-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a note from a satisfied customer. You will love our Mi Guitarrí music resources as well!

Erica, I originally found the "Colores, colores" song when searching for "Spanish Color Song" on YouTube. I am teaching my 21-month old son Spanish, and I wanted to find some kids songs in Spanish. I feel like I hit the gold jackpot in finding you guys! I LOVE the dvds. I ordered two and gave one to my good friend who is a Spanish teacher. I'm giving one CD I ordered to my son's preschool teacher who also does some Spanish. I have watched some of the dvd with my son, and he loved them. THANK YOU so much for doing this! It is exactly what I was looking for. I hope you make more! - Sarah G., Austin, TX

Spanish Song Videos on DVD: Give Kids the Gift of Spanish

2010-05-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Your children can now learn to read Spanish easily using our music videos. We have taken 19 of our favorite songs from the Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Kids CD and created music videos. Each video shows fun, attractive artwork that illustrates the music. Subtitles in Spanish are displayed as Joel sings so children can listen, watch, dance, read and sing their way to learning the Spanish language. Get your children on the road to learning Spanish with this terrific resource!

Order your copy today!

Order more great music resources at our website: MiGuitarri.com

Mi guitarri: Spanish Songs for Kids Songbook

2010-02-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Our new songbook in on the way to the printer!

We are looking forward to sharing all the music, poems and lyrics from the Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Kids CD in this high quality songbook. Teachers and students alike will love the easy to follow notation, guitar chords and lovely graphics.

Visit www.MiGuitarri.com to listen to sample songs, and be sure to order your very own copy of the music and songbook!

Give the Gift of Spanish Kids' Music!

2009-11-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

I love to give educational gifts of enduring value. My favorite gifts for children are music CDs and quality books.

This year, you can give the gift of music, education, language development and fun with the Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Kids CD. The lyrics are found within the full color liner notes and all the songs are 100% Spanish. Order your physical copy today from our own secure website at www.MiGuitarri.com.

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Visit our website: www.CalicoSpanish.com to learn more about our terrific Spanish products for kids!

Teach colors in Spanish with this song!

2009-10-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new action packed color song is available from Calico Spanish on our CD: Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Kids! This song is taken from a traditional German folksong. We modified it slightly to make it our own and to give children everywhere a chance to laugh and learn their colors.

The songs starts with the color green, which the singer loves because his/her father works in a forest. The song continues through the colors with each color corresponding to another career.

Get into the groove with this fun-filled color song. Move from green to red, blue, black, white, orange, yellow and colorful.

Spanish Songs for Learning Farm Animals

2009-10-17T09:47:00.001-07:00

Learning animal sounds is always fun for children. When you learn a second language, you will want to learn the corresponding animal sounds which can differ surprisingly around the world! Of course, domestic animals don't sound drastically different from region to region, but the interpretation of what words or sounds best represent the farm animals does vary greatly. For example, when a rooster crows, we say "cock-a-doodle-do." In Spanish, that rooster will say, "qui-qui-ri-quí." In German the rooster says, "kikeriki."

Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Children has a fun song to teach the sounds of many familiar animals. Sing along with Mi tio tiene una granja (My uncle has a farm) and get to know the names and sounds of animals in Spanish. As you sing with Joel, you'll have plenty of time to practice your rooster crow, your dog bark, your horse whinny and much, much more.

Kids' Spanish Dancing Song

2009-10-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Amiguito baila conmigo is a perfect song to use when introducing partner dancing to young students. This song is adapted from the Hansel and Gretel opera written by Engelbert Humperdinck in 1893. In the early 1900's this opera was frequently cited as one of the operas every child should know. This was a time in history when such lofty cultural goals were the norm for students.

The original melody is a lively tune and we translated the lyrics to suit our Spanish goals while holding true to the pattern first written by Humperdinck. As the song begins, the children invite one another to dance by putting their hands together and moving to the left, right, up, down and in a circle. They then clap their hands, and tap their feet to the tune. Finally, children can tip their heads from side to side, and snap their fingers before completing the full body motions of left, right, up down and a full circle.

You'll love this action packed song and dance, but more importantly, the lyrics will engage your students, teach them some key vocabulary and bring merriment to one and all!

You can listen to a sample of this song and purchase it on iTunes or Amazon.com by visiting the Mi guitarrí CD, track 3. Physical copies of the Mi guitarrí CD are available here on our website; just click the "Mi Guitarrí" tab at the top of this page.

Start your class with this Spanish welcome song...

2009-10-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

Hola a todos is the perfect song to sing as you start your Spanish class or Spanish circle time. This song teaches some key phrases in an immersion style; of course that means no English is included in the song lyrics!

Some of the words your students will learn while singing this introductory welcome song include:

Hola a todos. Hello everyone.

Buenos días. Good morning/day.

¿Cómo estás? How are you?

Yo estoy muy bien. I am very well/good.

Vamos a empezar la clase de Español. We are going to start Spanish class.

Enjoy our sample song below. You can see additional sample videos on our YouTube channel. You can buy this CD, Mi guitarrí: Spanish songs for kids at www.miguitarri.com.

Do you need a great action song to teach Spanish verbs?

2009-10-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

My kids love to learn new verbs through singing and dancing. They never tire of making up crazy motions and singing at the tops of their lungs as they work to memorize new action verbs in Spanish. Now Mi guitarrí: Spanish Songs for Kids offers them a new favorite as they learn new verbs. Joel invites the kids to come right now and get active with Vengan ya.

Track 23 of the CD has ten verses and ten verbs for you to practice. Then when your students are ready to learn some new verbs, you can let Joel lead you on bonus Track 30 and introduce any verbs you choose. This is like playing high speed Simon Says. You can shout a verb and all the students join in to make up actions for the verb. I am sure you realize this as an immersion, kinesthetic learning opportunity that is way too much fun to pass up!!

Spanish Singing Games, Mi guitarrí

2009-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Games played to songs are popular with children around the world. Our title track, Mi guitarrí is a traditional Spanish version of musical chairs. This game is especially appropriate for use in a language classroom as students have to listen for a slight change in lyrics to know when to scramble for a chair.

To play this game, you place chairs (or markers on the floor) in a circular pattern. Make sure there is one less chair than the number of students. Turn on the music and sing along with Joel to the rhythm of his guitar. Students listen for Joel to change the lyrics from, "Al ritmo de mi guitarrí" to "¡Al ritmo de mi guitarrí-co!" At the sound of the syllable, "-co," students must scramble to occupy one of the empty spaces. The one left out looses that round and the game begins again.

A bonus track on the CD has Joel singing the repeated line 12 times to allow the teacher to stop the music at the end of any of the lines and shout "-co!" thereby keeping the kids guessing as to when they will have to find a seat.

Song for Counting by Tens in Spanish, Gotas de diez en diez

2009-09-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been caught in a rainstorm? Did the drops hit you one by one, or did you get wet quickly?

Here's a song that catches you up in the rain as you learn to count by tens in Spanish. In Spanish we say, "Counting by Tens" as "Contar de diez en diez."

Our song is called "Gotas de diez en diez." The English translation of the lyrics would be: Today, I see the sky and it's going to rain. Now I see the drops, falling and falling. Ten, twenty, thirty, etc.

The melody is catchy and your students will love practicing counting by tens as they try not to get wet!

Sing the Days of the Week in Spanish

2009-09-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a great song to sing along as you learn the days of the week in Spanish? You'll find the perfect solution with La semana from Joel Valle's album, Mi guitarrí.

Visit our Kids Immersion YouTube channel to watch more of Joel's live performance with the students at New Vision School as they showed off what they had learned, including the days of the week!

Parts of the Body Song in Spanish

2009-09-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Todo mi cuerpo is a terrific song for learning the parts of the body in Spanish. You will be reminded of the English favorite "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." However, we have chosen a different melody and added some dancing into the mix. Encourage your students to touch each body part as they sing. They'll need to get faster and faster as Joel Valle speeds up the guitar and vocals towards the end.

This is a body parts song that is sure to generate lots of laughs!

We encourage you to listen to samples of Todo mi cuerpo, Track 6 on Mi guitarrí on iTunes, Amazon or CDBaby.

Songs for Teaching Spanish Numbers

2009-09-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Mi guitarrí CD has several songs you can use to teach numbers in Spanish. For starters, sing Cuenten conmigo (Count with Me). You get to sing this song to the tune of "Ten Little Indians" and count your fingers. Then continue on counting your claps (aplausos) and jumps (saltos).

As usual, Joel makes singing and dancing to this song a total joy as the kids easily listen in to his native Spanish voice and brilliant guitar playing! All of the songs are in 100% Spanish so you can focus on learning the language rather than translating!!

Listen to the samples of Cuenten conmigo, Track 8 on Mi guitarrí on iTunes, Amazon or CDBaby.

Alphabet Song on YouTube

2009-09-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

You can view an updated version of our alphabet song on YouTube. If you are trying to teach your children the Spanish Alphabet, you'll love the great images posted with the video. The melody is easy to learn and kids quickly memorize the letter shapes and names as they sing along. Canten el alfabeto hoy con la cancion Alfabeto.

Which version of the Spanish alphabet do you teach?

2009-09-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked how we selected the letters for our alphabet song. We did quite a bit of research and reading to decide which letters, if any, to exclude. The letters ñ, ll, ch and rr are no longer officially letters of the Spanish alphabet. However, according to our sources, the letters ñ, ll and ch are still included when teaching the Spanish alphabet to students in Latin America. The rr is no longer taught as a separate letter as it represents a rolling "r" sound which is indicated by double "r's" in a word, but by a single "r" at the beginning of a word. We also had to select specific names for certain letters such as "w" because certain letter names in Spanish vary by region. After conducting our extensive research to determine what is currently being taught to students today in Latin America, we feel confident that our Alfabeto song is representative of the current trend.

A, B, C, Ch, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ll, M, N, Ñ, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

Song for Teaching the Alphabet in Spanish

2009-09-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Mi guitarrí has a wonderful song to teach the alphabet in Spanish. Kids learn quickly when they sing along to our tune and see the letters.

You can hear and sample and see the alphabet on our YouTube channel.

Songs for Teaching Spanish, Mi guitarrí

2009-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ah, children's music CDs. How many have you really loved to listen to? There is a huge range of quality and when we produced Mi guitarrí, our goal was to be one of the best children's CDs available. We know you'll be pleased with the results.

What's our formula for producing a fabulous children's Spanish music CD?

First, we wrote songs that teach children Spanish themes, phrases and vocabulary. All of the lyrics are in Spanish so that the children can focus on the Spanish language. It is helpful to know what you are singing, so our lyrics are listed in the liner notes.

Once we had our lyrics, we made sure to set them to catchy tunes. Some of our melodies were written by our talented musicians, Elizabeth Turner and Joel Valle. Other tunes have been handed down for generations as traditional children's songs in German, Spanish or English. For maximum fun, we created songs that allow you to make up motions as you sing.

Next, we hired an amazingly talented musician, Joel Valle. Joel is a native Spanish speaker, his voice is pleasant, and he has more guitar talent than seems possible. I love listening to him perform and I am so grateful that he took time to work on our project.

Finally, we recorded at a top-notch studio owned and operated by Michael Andrews. If you want a quality sound, you have to utilize great equipment and extraordinary talent. We have been blessed in finding so many people who turned this dream into a reality that sounds even better than we imagined possible.

Take time to visit our website and listen to samples, or check out the samples on iTunes and Amazon.com. Your ears will be grateful and your brain will be learning!