Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

I hope the last post helped you become familiar and comfortable with Spanish body part vocabulary.  The more you use it around your littles, the more comfortable they will become with it.  We use our car time to and from school to practice this a lot.  My toddler is still facing backwards in her car seat, but we have a mirror in front of her.  I can see her in my rearview mirror.  So I'll say, "Where's your head?  Show me your estómago.  Can you find your manos?"  We go back and forth between Spanish and English.  If she points to a Spanish one wrong, I'll say "Remember, your pies are your feet." and she almost always corrects herself.  My kiddo repeats EVERYTHING, so as I'm saying these words, she says and points to them.  If yours does too, great!  If not, that's totally fine too.  They're learning as they go even if they aren't verbalizing it just yet.  They will.  No rush.  I hope your practice is going well and that you're becoming more confident mixing some Spanish in with what you're already doing with your babies.

While we're working on our body parts, it's a good time to talk about HOW kids learn a second language.  Most of the time, it's the same way they learned the first!  Pointing out things, labeling them, rhymes and songs.  Think back to how you (or your kids) learned body parts.  I bet the song Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes was a part of it!  In case it's been a while since you've sung it, here's a little video to remind yourself:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka7d-13iWbA 

This is a great song for you to use with your little ones in English AND in Spanish.  In Spanish, the song is Cabeza, Hombros, Piernas, Pies.  It translates as Head, Shoulders, Legs and Feet.  So the words are a little different.  Here's how it goes:

Cabeza, hombros, piernas, pies
Piernas, pies
Cabeza, hombros, piernas, pies
Piernas, pies
Ojos, orejas, boca y nariz
Cabeza, hombros, piernas, pies
Piernas, pies

Here are the translations:
la cabeza = head
los hombros = shoulders
las piernas = legs
los pies = feet
los ojos = eyes
las orejas = ears
la boca = mouth
y = and
la nariz = nose

Los hombros and los ojos are new words for us this week.  Be sure to practice them in addition to the words you've been working on from last week.

Here's an audio clip of the Spanish song.  Check it out for yourself so you can teach your tiny one.  http://www.kidsspeakspanish.org/esp_Cabeza_Hombros_Piernas_Pies.shtml

Next time we'll be looking at this first words board book.  Get a copy for yourself here: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0789485931/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1