Los Pollitos

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Los Pollitos Dicen

I absolutely love this song because it is one of the most popular Spanish songs for children as well as one of the most traditional ones.

There are several variations of this song, so don't be surprised if you hear some words a bit different from the ones you learned when you were growing up. Also, the rhythm can be different from one Hispanic country to another.

I chose this version in the video above because it is happy and makes children dance to the rhythm of it, at least my son does! There is also a Jos� Luis Orozco version, which is slower and I use it to teach pre-k children the lyrics.

Tips when teaching this song:

Use puppets of chicken and a hen to "play" the song. If you are teaching in a classroom environment, bring toy corn and wheat if you can, if not show images of them. The images help children see what the song is talking about without translating.

Repetition is key. Help the learning process by mimicking what the hen is doing to feed her chicks. For example: when you say "p�o, p�o, p�o" move your hands like if they were the beak of the chicks saying so. "Cuando tienen hambre" then touch your stomach. "Cuando tienen fr�o" wrap your arms around you. You get the idea.

If your children are not exposed to Spanish on a regular basis, try to identify the vocabulary with images before you use it. Making a drawing together with your little one related to the song, and singing it slowly before hand helps the learning process.

Lyrics

Los pollitos dicen, p�o, p�o, p�o,
cuando tienen hambre
cuando tienen fr�o.

La gallina busca,
el ma�z y el trigo,
les d� la comida,
y les presta abrigo.

Bajo sus dos alas,
acurrucaditos,
duermen los pollitos,
hasta el otro d�a. Repeat all verses.

Cuando se levantan,
dicen mamacita,
tengo mucha hambre,
dame lombricitas.