Giving your kids the opportunity to learn Spanish as a second language is one of the best things you can give your child. Spanish will give them the chance to bond with international classmates, have more future career opportunities, and develop cultural awareness. But what is the best way to teach them a new language? Through fun activities, like listening to music.
Kids are constantly surrounded by music. Children’s movies contain songs, school festivals involve dancing and singing, and most parents play music around the house. This demonstrates that, apart from their academic classes, we also teach kids their native language through music. Why not do the same with their second language? They’ll have fun while acquiring Spanish vocabulary and good pronunciation.
But kids also learn many other things through music. Just remember how you were taught the alphabet – with a song! Or how Barney, that purple dinosaur, sang about “please” and “thank you” to teach us good values.
If music has so many benefits, you should take advantage of it. Here are the best children’s songs in Spanish to learn vocabulary, learn values, numbers, vowels, and other important topics for children. The best of all is that your kids will be interested in learning all of these topics because it’ll be fun for them!
How to Learn Through Spanish Music
There are different things you can do with your kids while listening to the songs so they can learn everything more effectively.
Your kids can do a lot of these activities by themselves, but it’s even better if you do these with them. Kids like to imitate what their parents do, so they’ll try these things if you do them together. An extra perk is that you both will have fun together and connect even more.
Dancing
Kids love to dance because it’s a way to move and explore. Dancing will make them get rid of all their energy while having fun. You can play their favorite songs and dance with them while mimicking what the lyrics say. For example: if the song is about brushing your teeth, you can dance and move your arm as if you were brushing your teeth. This way, they’ll understand better what the singing is trying to teach them.
Sing Along
There’s no better way to learn and understand the message of the song than by singing the lyrics. If you and your baby still don’t know Spanish, listen to the song first. Then try to emulate the sounds of the words. If you know some basic Spanish, you can look up the lyric videos on YouTube, so you can follow the subtitles while singing. When you are more advanced, you can just learn the lyrics and sing your heart out.
Do What the Song is About
Play the song while doing what the lyrics sing about. For example: if it is about colors, you can draw while listening to the song in the background. Or if it is about cooking, you can do a recipe while the song plays.
Background Music
Listen to music in the background. Make a playlist with your kids’ favorite songs and every now and then put it in the background. No matter what you and your kids are doing, just play the songs. Listening, even if not putting all of their attention on the songs, will make your kids absorb the lyrics. Later they might start singing some of the songs.
8 Children’s Spanish Songs to Learn the Language
1. La Risa de Las Vocales – Thalia
This is translated as “the laugh of the vowels”. It tries to teach you the vowels in Spanish by imitating how each vowel would laugh if they could. The song became popular with Katy’s voice. She was a contestant on “Juguemos a cantar”, a singing show in Mexico back in the 80s. Thalia made her own version and published a music video.
Key Words and Phrases
- Número – Number
- Se ríe – It laughs
- Está de buen humor – He/she is in a good mood
Enjoy the music video:
2. Por Favor y Gracias – Barney
We mentioned Barney’s song “please and thank you” above. Well, this is the Spanish version. And, as the name says, it tries to teach kids the Spanish words for “please” and “thank you”. So they won’t forget to be kind. Everyone knows Barney – now your children will get to hear how this fun dinosaur sounds in Spanish!
Key Phrases
- Día, tarde y noche – Day, afternoon and night
- Te hará sentir bien – It’ll make you feel good
Enjoy the music video:
3. Pin Pon – Tatiana
Tatiana is a popular Mexican singer; she has songs for both adults and kids. This is a very famous song among many generations of children. It is about a doll named “Pin Pon” who is very clean. The song teaches kids that it is important to wash their faces, brush their hair, eat clean, and sleep well.
Key Words and Phrases
- Se lava la carita con agua y con jabón – He/She washes his/her little face with water and soap
- Se desenreda el pelo – (He/She) untangles his/her hair
- Leche – Milk
- Estrellas – Stars
Enjoy the song!
4. Lavado de Manos – Plaza Sésamo
Do you know Sesame Street? That popular children’s show? Plaza Sésamo is what it’s called in Spanish! Lavado the manos means “hand washing”. It is sung by Elmo and Clara, and they teach kids how to properly wash their hands. Because hygiene is a very important thing in life.
Key Words
- Jabón – Soap
- Agua – Water
- Frota – Rub
Enjoy the music video:
5. Cantando los Números – Reino Infantil
The title means “singing the numbers”. The song will teach your kids to count numbers in Spanish from 1 to 10. It helps your children recognize Spanish numbers by associating them with how they look. For example, el ocho los lentes de Andrés means “the eight (is) Andrés’ glasses”. Because the number eight looks like glasses. So your kids will not only learn numbers but also many more words.
Key Words and Phrases
- Casi me olvido… – I almost forgot…
- Al derecho y al revés – Inside out (The literal translation is “right / forward and backwards”. But it’s a phrase used as “inside out”.)
- Patito – Little duck
- Silla – Chair
- Gato – Cat
Enjoy the music video:
6. Los Días de la Semana – Patylu
This song teaches kids the days of the week in both Spanish and English. So if your kids aren’t very familiar with Spanish yet, they can hear the song and compare the English names with the Spanish ones. The video helps a lot because the days appear written in the video. So kids will help themselves by seeing the words for each day of the week.
Key Words and Phrases
- Cumpleaños – Birthday
- Me emociona – It excites me
- Diversión – Fun
Enjoy the music video:
7. Tabla del 9 Cantada – Doremi
Doremi is a YouTube channel with many different music videos to learn different things. This song helps children learn the 9 times multiplication table with an interesting narrator and singer: Vampiclaus, a vampire. Numbers and math might be difficult to learn in another language, but the rhymes and Dracula make it easy and fun. They also have other times tables’ songs.
Key Words and Phrases:
- Que comience la función – Let the function begin
- Da – Gives
Enjoy the music video:
8. El Baile del Sapito – Cómplices al Rescate
The translation of the song title would be “the dance of the little toad”. This song teaches children a dance. Both the song and the choreography are from a Mexican children’s telenovela: cómplices al rescate. The famous singer and actress, Belinda, was the lead actress. It’s a catchy song, and very fun for kids that love to learn any kind of dance. It’s a popular song to this day.
Key Words and Phrases
- Te voy a enseñar – I’m going to teach you
- Giras – You turn
- Vas para adelante – You go forward
- Un poco más – A little bit more
- Vas pa’ ‘tras – You go backwards
- Brinco alto – High jump
- Vuelves a empezar – You start again
- Solito – Alone
Enjoy the music video:
Benefits of Learning with Spanish Songs
Spanish music will give your kids many benefits. First of all, they will acquire brand-new vocabulary, from many different topics depending on what the song is about.
They will also learn how to pronounce words the right way. When we first start learning a new language it’s hard to pick up the correct sounds, but with music, it will happen eventually. Maybe faster, because kids will want to sing the lyrics, so they will hear the song over and over again. Plus, a catchy rhythm always makes it easier.
Another benefit is that kids will develop cultural sensitivity. Even if a song doesn’t speak about traditions from a Spanish-speaking country, songs are part of a culture. Learning a song in Spanish will show your children what kids from other countries grew up listening to. Even from a young age kids appreciate their favorite songs and remember them forever. Your children will understand that feeling since they also grew up with English children’s songs. And they will hopefully appreciate the Spanish music as well.
The last benefit is fun, which we’ve repeated throughout the blog. Because it is an important factor in any language learning journey. Your kids will love to learn Spanish because they’ll be interested in it. Time will pass faster if they learn with music. They can even connect more with their friends because they can share their favorite tracks with each other.
Though music brings many benefits, you should know that it won’t teach your kids everything there is to know about Spanish. To become really fluent, kids should take classes. Here at TruFluency Kids, we can teach them Spanish through fun activities. They will dance, play games, cook, and of course, sing.
All of our classes are online, and they are instructed by native teachers. We also focus on language fluency, so your kids will have enough time to speak in the classes. They will learn useful skills and vocabulary, so they can actually hold a conversation in Spanish. You’ll see how they’ll start saying their first Spanish words in no time.
We have flexible schedules and accessible prices. Sign up for the next 4-week sessions, and get 20% off of your first month of classes with code TF20.
