Navegando en buen y mal tiempo /
Sailing in Sunny and Rainy Weather
Books to Share
- Clifford y el verano caluroso by Normal Bridwell.
- Cloud Boy: Niño nube by Rhode Montijo.
- Un enorme animal nube by Emilio Carballido.
- Iguanas in the Snow: and other winter poems; Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno by Francisco X. Alarcón.
- Laughing Tomatoes: And Other Spring Poems / Jitomates Risueños: y otros poemas de primavera by Francisco X. Alarcón.
- La nube by Joel Franz Rosell.
- Sol y lluvia by Alan Rogers.
- Soy el agua by Jean Marzollo.
- Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu.
Books to Show or Booktalk
- El ciclo del agua / The Water Cycle by Helen Frost.
- La lluvia / Rain by Gail Saunders-Smith.
- Las nubes / Clouds by Gail Saunders-Smith.
- Los relámpagos / Lightning by Gail Saunders-Smith.
- Weather / El tiempo by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza.
- Y aún podría ser agua by Allan Fowler.
Bulletin Board
Sun and Rain
Cover the bulletin board with blue paper. Make a sun out of yellow and orange construction paper and add rays to it by cutting long and narrow strips. An alternative is to create a sun by using handprints. Directions can be found at Free Kids Crafts, www.freekidcrafts.com/mr_sun.html. Make white clouds out of paper and place the clouds to one side of the sun. Place book covers around the bulletin board, if some are available. Add the caption, “Con sol y con lluvia, siempre hay tiempo para leer” (with sun and with rain, there is always time to read.)
Nametags
Clouds
Cut a fluffy cloud shape from white paper using the pattern.
Displays
Display one or two colorful children’s umbrellas along with some rubber boots. Place several colorful raincoats on the display table as a covering. Add non-fiction books about the weather and picture books with covers that show scenes of rain and or sunshine.
Refreshments
Sunny Drinks
Serve lemonade in plastic cocktail glasses and add an “umbrella straw” to each drink. You may also cut up fresh pineapple, or use cherries or grapes and put a paper parasol through them to garnish the drinks. Both the umbrella straws and the parasols are available at Oriental Trading Company, www.orientaltrading.com.
Fingerplays
Redondo
(Traditional.)
Redonda es la luna (Make a circle with your hands to the left)
redondo es el sol (Make a circle with your hands to the right)
redonda la pelota (Make a circle with your hands in front of your head)
redondo el tambor. (Make a circle with your hands in front of your waist)
Porrompon pon pon... (Pretend your are playing the drums)
Songs
Sol solecito
(Traditional, from Colombia.)
Sol solecito
caliéntame un poquito,
por hoy y por mañana
y por toda la semana.
Sun, Little Sun
(English translation by Paola Ferate-Soto.)
Sun, little sun,
Warm me up a bit,
Today and tomorrow
And all week long.
Tú eres mi sol
(Spanish translation by Paola Ferate-Soto.)
Tú eres mi sol
mi único sol.
Me haces feliz
cuando el cielo está gris.
Nunca sabrás
cuanto te quiero.
No te lleves mi lindo sol.
You Are My Sunshine
(Traditional.)
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.
El gallo pinto
(Traditional.)
El gallo pinto se durmió (Lay head down to the side under your hands)
y esta mañana no cantó, (Put your hands together with fingers locked as if singing opera)
todo el mundo espera (Cross your arms as if waiting impatiently)
su cocoricó,
el sol no salió (Put hands above head in a circle)
por que aún no lo oyó. (Cup hands over ears)
The Little Rooster
(English translation by Paola Ferate-Soto.)
The little rooster fell asleep, (Lay head down to the side under your hands)
And this morning he didn't sing. (Put your hands together with fingers locked as if singing opera)
Every one is waiting for (Cross your arms as if waiting impatiently)
His cockle doodle-do.
The sun didn't rise (Put hands above head in a circle)
Because he didn’t hear (Cup hands over ears)
The rooster’s cockle doodle doo.
El Jacarandá
(Traditional song from Argentina. The jacarandá is a tree that is filled with bright blue flowers when in bloom. In the song below, each verse is sung twice as noted by the Spanish notation “Bis”.)
Al Este y al Oeste llueve y lloverá
una flor y otra flor silvestre
del Jacarandá (Bis)
Se rién las ardillitas:
“Ja jara ja ja”
porque el viento le hace cosquillas
al Jacarandá (Bis)
La bruja está en la cueva
pero ya saldrá
para oir que bonito suena
el Jacarandá (Bis)
The Jacaranda Tree
(English translation by Paola Ferate-Soto.)
To the east and to the west it will rain
One wild flower and another
From the Jacaranda. (repeat)
The little squirrels laugh:
“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha”
Because the wind is tickling
The Jacaranda. (repeat)
The witch is in her cave
But soon she will come out
To hear the beautiful sounds
From the Jacaranda. (repeat)
Rhymes and Poetry
Read “Las nubes – Clouds” in: Iguanas in the Snow: And Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno by Francisco X. Alarcón.
Read “Sol matutino – Morning Sun” in: Laughing Tomatoes / Jitomates risueños by Francisco X. Alarcón.
Audio Recordings
“Que llueva” on Disney Presenta Cantar y Jugar by Disney.
“¡Qué llueva!” on Alerta Sings & Canciones para el recreo / Children’s songs for the Playground by Suni Paz.
“Las mañanitas” on Lírica infantil con Jose-Luis Orozco, Volumen 2 by José-Luis Orozco.
Stories to Tell
Arriba Juan
(Traditional. In this song, Juan does not want to get out of bed and go to school. He is full of excuses until he receives a “bribe” from his mother. When you sing this song, pretend to be the “mother” and let the children pretend to be “Juan or Juana.” The mother speaks the first set of lines, while the children speak the next. Continue alternating between mother and children.)
Madre: ¡Arriba Juan, arriba Juan! Ya cantó el gallito. (Storyteller pretends that he/she is the mother, waking up Juan)
Juan: ¡Ay no mamá!, ¡Ay no mamá! Es muy tempranito. (The children, playing the part of Juan, shake their heads, “No”, and pull up covers)
Madre: ¡Arriba Juan, arriba Juan! Hay que ir a la escuela.
Juan: ¡Ay no mamá!,¡Ay no mamá! Me duele una muela. (Children shake their heads, “No”, and touch their cheek as if in pain)
Madre: ¡Arriba Juan, arriba Juan! Te compré un helado. (Storyteller pretends that he/she is giving Juan an ice cream)
Juan: ¡Ay si mamá! ¡Ay si mamá! Ya estoy levantado. (Children jump up happily)
Get Up John
(English translation by Paola Ferate-Soto.)
Mother: Get up John, Get up John! The rooster is singing! (Storyteller pretends that he/she is the mother, waking up Juan)
John: Oh no dear mommy, oh no dear mommy! It’s too early still. (The children, playing the part of Juan, shake their heads, “No”, and pull up covers)
Mother: Get up John, Get up John! You will miss your school bus. (Storyteller pretends that he/she is waking up Juan)
John: Oh no dear mommy! Oh no dear mommy! My back tooth is hurting. (Children shake their heads, “No”, and touch their cheek as if in pain)
Mother: Get up John, Get up John! I bought you some ice cream. (Storyteller pretends that he/she is giving Juan an ice cream)
John: Oh yes dear mommy! Oh yes dear mommy! I am wide-awake. (Children jump up happily)
Tongue Twister (Trabalenguas)
El cielo está enladrillado
(Traditional.)
El cielo está enladrillado.
¿Quién lo desenladrillará?
El desenladrillador
que lo desenladrille,
buen desenladrillador será.
The Sky Is Bricked Up
(English translation by Paola Ferate-Soto. This nonsensical tongue twister alludes to how the sky turns the color of brick when the sun is setting.)
The sky is all bricked up
Who will unbrick it?
The unbricker who can unbrick it,
a great unbricker will be.
Sayings (Dichos y refranes)
In Spanish, there is a great richness to the oral tradition. Part of this comes in the widespread use of popular sayings, “dichos y refranes.” There seems to be a popular saying about almost anything. You may choose to share these as part of the introduction to your program or as an ending to your program. These might have a special meaning to the parents of the children and may serve as a bridge for the children to find out more about the theme that of the program.
“Después de lluvia neblina, hacia buen tiempo camina.” (“If after the rain comes fog, then good weather is coming.” The fog indicates the beginning of atmospheric stability, therefore it follows that if fog comes after a rain, the weather is going to get better.)
“ Animales perezosos, tiempo tormentoso.” (“Lazy animals signal the arrival of a storm.”)
Riddles (Adivinanza)
De mi madre nací yo
sin generación de padre
y luego me morí yo
y de mí nació mi madre.
Answer: (El agua y la escarcha. Madre = agua; hijo = escarcha)
From my mother I was born
Without having a father
Then I died
And from me my mother was born.
Answer: (The water and the frost. Mother = the water; child = the frost)
Crafts
Rainy Day
Materials
- Variously colored die-cut umbrellas
- Glue sticks
- White paper or cardstock
- Cotton balls (optional)
- Clear self-adhesive round labels (optional)
- Markers or watercolors
Directions
In advance, cut umbrella shapes from various colors of construction paper using a die-cut or the umbrella pattern in the preschool chapter. Give the children umbrellas in several colors and glue sticks. Let them glue the umbrellas onto a sheet of white paper or cardstock. You may also choose to give the children cotton balls to glue on for clouds and small clear self-adhesive labels to stick on for raindrops. Give the children markers or watercolors to finish coloring their creation. If desired, pair this craft with a reading of Yellow Umbrella byJae Soo Liu.
Rain Stick
Materials
- Paper towel cardboard tubes
- Aluminum foil
- Rice or other dried grain (lentils, beans, etc.)
- White craft paper
- Glue
- Rubber bands
- Crayons or pens
Directions
In advance, precut white craft paper to fit around the paper towel tube, squares of white craft paper about double the diameter of the tube, and precut aluminum foil into 8” X 11” pieces. The children will color the white paper that fits around the cardboard tubes and then glue the paper onto the tubes. They will put one square piece of paper at an end of the tube and secure it with a rubber band. Then they will loosely scrunch the aluminum foil into a long, uneven piece and place the foil inside the tube. Next they will pour a handful of rice or beans into the tube. Then they will cover the open end of the tube with the second piece of paper and secure it with a rubber band. When the craft is complete, the children may turn the rain stick gently from end to end and listen to the rain.
Games and Activities
Storm Makers
Ask the children to hold out one hand, palm up. Have them hit their palm with one finger. When they get going ask them to watch you and follow your lead. Slowly increase the number of fingers you have out to two, then to three, and so on until you clap. Then play around with the number of fingers that you are using, always making a smooth transition. This simulates the sound that rain makes, especially when the group is large. This activity is especially effective if everyone remains silent throughout the activity, including you.
El patio de mi casa
The Spanish directions for playing this game, as well as the music, lyrics, and sheet music can be found at the Biblioteca Virtual de Luis Angel Arango web site, www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/ninos/cantar/20.pdf. This is a game in which the person in the middle of a circle of children acts out some of the verses of the song and then chooses someone from the circle to replace him or her in the center.
One child is chosen to remain in the middle. The other children hold hands and form a circle around the child in the middle. While singing the song, the children circle around the child in the center. In the second verse, “agáchense …,” the children squat down twice. In the last part of the song, “Hache, I, jota, Ka…,” the children in the circle stop rotating, and the child inside of the circle rotates in the opposite direction pointing to each child on the outside circle. When the song is finished, the last child who was pointed at trades places with the child in the center of the circle.
El aguacerito
In this game, the children are called to act out the commands proposed by the others, much like the game “Simon Says.” Music, lyrics, and sheet music are available from the Biblioteca Virtual de Luis Angel Arango web site, www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/ninos/cantar/24.pdf .
The children make a circle without holding hands. They rotate to the right in small jumps as the librarian recites the first verse. One child is chosen to start the commands. That child states that everyone should do a particular action, for example, “sit down.” Everyone performs that action. The song is repeated and the children rotate to the right. The next child issues a command, for example, “turn around,” and everyone follows the command. Continue the game until all of the children have had a turn requesting an action from the group. Additional suggested movements include clap, stomp feet, yawn, scratch, fall asleep, take a shower, and eat.
Guest Speakers
Invite the person who reports the weather for your local television station to talk to the children about weather and weather forecasting.
Videos/DVDs/Films
If you have public performance rights, show these videos and DVDs, or segments of them, to the children. Otherwise, display them for home use. Times are indicated for the entire film.
- “Spot Plays in the Rain” on Las Aventuras de Spot by Eric Hill. (35 minutes)
- “ La canción del Arcoiris” and “Si, Todas la Gotas de Lluvia” on Be My Valentine, Love, Barney. (Be sure you get the version that has been dubbed into Spanish.) (50 minutes)
- “If All The Raindrops” dubbed in Spanish on Barney's Exercise Circus. (30 minutes)
- “Mr. Sun” found in the VHS tape More Barney Songs / Más Canciones de Barney. (Be sure you get the version that has been dubbed into Spanish.) (55 minutes)
Professional Resources
Biblioteca Virtual de Luis Angel Arango
www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/ninos/cantar/1.pdf
This web site from the Luis Angel Arango Library in Bogotá, Colombia is filled with songs, rhymes and games that are part of the Colombian folklore.
Free Kid Crafts
www.freekidcrafts.com/mr_sun.html
This site is a great source for craft ideas, theme-related snacks, and coloring pages. It includes a unit on sun crafts and snacks.
Oriental Trading Company
www.orientaltrading.com
This online vendor sells a variety of party and educational goods.
