Kids Songs Around the World with English Translations
or French Translations
or Spanish Translations
Mama Lisa's World Blog
English Nursery Rhymes
Mother Goose in French
Wizard of Oz Audiobook
Poetry for Kids
ML Reviews
Mama Lisa's Hub
This is the Learning Archive Page
Categories
- 1512 (1)
- Arts and Crafts (21)
- Books (56)
- Children's Songs (424)
- Countries & Cultures (899)
- Customs (42)
- Folk Lore (6)
- Folk Songs (74)
- Food & Nutrition (4)
- Games (38)
- Gardens (2)
- History of Nursery Rhymes (8)
- Holiday Calendar (1)
- Holiday Songs (154)
- Holidays Around the World (340)
- Languages (711)
- Learning (37)
- Lullabies (39)
- Mama Lisa (412)
- Movies & TV (23)
- Music (62)
- Nursery Rhymes (157)
- Parenting (72)
- People (18)
- Photos (26)
- Podcasts (29)
- Poetry (95)
- Proverbs (20)
- Questions (305)
- Quotes (7)
- Recipes of the World (74)
- Recommendations (62)
- Recordings of Nursery Rhymes (19)
- Recordings of Songs (100)
- Rhymes by Theme (41)
- Seasonal (28)
- Songs by Theme (69)
- Teaching (41)
- Traditional Songs (2)
- Traveling (35)
- Video (23)
- Words & Phrases (16)
- YouTube (67)
My Tweets
Archive for the 'Learning' Category
Contents
Posts
Kids Halloween Art
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Here’s some Halloween artwork my daughter and her friends did this week. I thought you might enjoy seeing it to help get you in the mood for Halloween!
“Bones” by Lila
“Skeleton” by Lila…
“Witch” by Sarina
“Graveyard” by Melisa
“Graveyard II” by Melisa
“R.I.P.” by Marisa
Have a Spooky Fun Halloween!
Mama Lisa
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – It’s Really about a Kid’s Drawing!
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009I clearly remember being seven years old and listening to Elton John’s rendition of the Beatle’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in my suburban backyard… Looking up at the sky and imagining a girl there, possibly me, floating with diamonds, a rainbow in the background (I guess due to the colorful imagery in the song), and clouds, in a jungle of tall flowers.
That’s the image I saw in my head every time I heard the song… until years later, when I became a teenager, it was dashed to the ground, and shattered upon being told that the song was about drug use. Somehow that tainted the song for me and made it less interesting… somehow mundane… not of a person’s own, pure imagination, but drug induced.
Today, my childhood image has been redeemed. I learned that the song actually came from a childhood drawing by John Lennon’s son Julian. You can see the drawing below. When John asked his son what the drawing was about, Julian said, “It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was Julian’s playmate in school.
The song “Lucy in the Song with Diamonds” was also influenced by Lewis Carroll. Paul McCartney said, “We did the whole thing like an Alice in Wonderland idea, being in a boat on the river, slowly drifting downstream with those great cellophane flowers towering over your head. Every so often it broke off and you saw Lucy with Diamonds all over the sky.”
That is a much more interesting origin of this song! What’s more, it lets me remember my original conception of it… and feel like that’s what it was really about… the feeling of the innocent, colorful, originality of childhood.
Oh happy day! To regain a childhood perspective!
Hattip: Steve Bunche’s Blog
*****
On a sadder note, the real Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), Julian’s playmate, recently passed away from Lupus at the age of 46.
French Hello Song “Bonjour” with MP3
Monday, June 8th, 2009Hello songs are a wonderful way to help children who are learning a foreign language. It’s also nice for children to always sing the same song at the beginning of a class. Hello songs are great for this.
The song below is called “Bonjour”. It’s a French hello song written and sung by Alain Le Lait. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French, followed by an English translation by Alain…
Bonjour
(French Lyrics)Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?
Bonjour, bonjour
Très bien, merci
Je suis content d’être ici
Avec tous mes petits amis
Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?Merci, merci
Merci d’être ici
Merci, merci
Écoutez
Aimez-vous cette chanson?
J’espère que je suis dans le ton
Merci, merci
Merci d’être iciHello
(English Translation)Hello, hello
How are you?
Hello, hello
Very well, thank you
I am happy to be here
With all my little friends
Hello, hello
How are you?Thank you, thank you
For being here
Thank you, thank you
Listen up
Do you like this song?
I hope that I am in tune
Thank you, thank you
For being here.The French and English lyrics to this “Bonjour” song are © 2003 Alain Le Lait.
Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s. Soon we’ll be posting Alain’s version of Alouette!
Merci Alain!
Mama Lisa
PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…
Raffi Lyrics and Musical Arrangements
Sunday, May 31st, 2009Many children love Raffi’s music! I’ve just discovered something wonderful on his site… Raffi’s Lyrics and Scores – which include his specific arrangements to many of the songs he sings.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Spanish Wrangler: Great Music for Exposing Kids to Spanish
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009The Spanish Wrangler sings really fun music for kids! The songs are mainly in English, but they’re peppered with Spanish words and phrases. Most of the songs tell a story – which children love. What a great way to expose kids to the Spanish language!
The Wrangler’s music is cool. You feel like you’re sauntering in a Western town. I thought it had a bit of a bluesy feel to it. So I asked the Spanish Wrangler how he would classify his music. He said, “a word I’ve seen used (and sometimes use myself) to describe my stuff is ‘roots-based.’ I think that signals that the songs are blues & country with some folk thrown in…” The folk is where the stories come from.
Check out the Wrangler singing in the song below (he’s great with the children!). You can see how he teaches Spanish words…
You can hear the whole song, plus others, on his site at Spanish Wrangler.
Here’s a link to buy the Spanish Wrangler’s CD’s.
Thanks to Wil Thomas aka the Spanish Wrangler for sharing his music with us!
Mama Lisa
Martin Luther King Jr. Activities to Do with Kids
Monday, January 19th, 2009Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US. It celebrates the life of such an important American who had the courage to speak up for equal rights for all. Here are some activities to do with children to help them learn more about him…
You can listen to his I Have a Dream Speech online with your children. It’s his most well-known speech.
You can have your kids do an animated Martin Luther King Jr. Jigsaw Puzzle – choose Easy, Medium or Hard.
Let your school-age kid go to the site called America’s Story to read about Martin Luther King Jr. (with your help if needed).
Some Noteworthy Language Tools
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008Here are some new and old language tools worth mentioning…
Speech Accent Archive – If you’d like to hear or study accents in English check out this site. People from all over the world recite a paragraph in English.
Internet Slang Dictionary & Translator – also translates internet acronyms like lol
Nice Translator – Uses the Google translator, but displays text in a way that’s easier to read.
Verbix – Conjugates verbs in many languages
WordReference.com – online translation dictionaries translates words from English to: Spanish, Italian, Russian, German and French (translates in both directions).
Hello World – language resources for Kids
LanguageGuide.org – Visual Dictionaries in various languages
Feel free to mention any language tools or sites you like in the comments below.
-Mama Lisa
Come Watch An 11 Year Old Playing Fur Elise
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008Beethoven wrote this piece in 1810. In English it means “For Elise”.
Listen to Vi play it when he was 11 years old!
Ideas to Encourage Your Child to Read
Thursday, November 20th, 2008This week I met with my daughter’s 2nd grade teacher for parent teacher conferences. There was a hand-out for all the parents about ways to encourage your child to read.
Here are some of the ideas I wanted to point out:
-Give magazine subscriptions as gifts (good idea with the December holidays approaching)
-Collect simple recipes and allow your child to cook them. There are some good cookbooks available at the local library for kids.
-Always leave lots of notes for your kids. Put them in their lunch boxes, at different places around the house, etc.
-Play board games that encourage reading.
-Buy your child books about subjects s/he loves – even if it’s something like Barbie dolls or Pokemon. What’s most important is that your child is interested in the subject and wants to read.
-Read classic chapter books to your child at night. Better yet, read them to the whole family. My husband reads books like The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter to all of us. We all look forward to this special time together at night.
-Find internet sites and computer games about topics your child enjoys. My son has been interested in the weather since he was in preschool. (He’s in high school now.) He has checked the weather reports online since he was about 3 1/2 years old (no joke!). His interest progressed to reading and learning about the weather on weather related sites.
-If your child is singing a song and doesn’t know all the lyrics, look them up with him/her. Let your child see the lyrics onscreen and try to read them. Every chance you get to have your child read is excellent no matter what the reason.
-Buy your child books s/he’ll enjoy for the holidays.
Some books my kids have liked over the years are:
Captain Underpants Books
Henry and Mudge Series (younger kids)
Five Little Monkeys books by Eileen Christelow
Magic School Bus Books
Eric Carle/Bill Martin Jr Books
Amelia Bedelia
Fancy Nancy
Guinness Book of World Records
Ripley’s Believe It or Not
Harry Potter Books
Roald Dahl’s Books
I-Spy Books
Wizard of Oz Books
Dr. Seuss
Magic Tree House SeriesFeel free to add any good ideas or recommended series in the comments!
-Mama Lisa
A Couple of Halloween Songs
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008Heather sent me these Halloween songs and the following note:
Hi,
When I was little my Mom taught my sisters and me several Halloween songs. You have one on your website called “Five Little Pumpkins” and “Trick or Treat” that we know. Here is some others I thought you might like to add:
The Halloween Song
H, A, double L, O
W, double E, N
Spells HalloweenJack-o’-lantern
Jack-o’-lantern, Jack-o’-lantern
You are such a funny sight.
As you sit there, at the window
Glowing on at the night.You were once a yellow pumpkin
Growing on a sturdy vine.
Now you are a jack-o’-lantern
Glowing on at the night.I am not sure what the titles are, but I have been searching for these songs on the internet and can’t find either of them. But I sing them to my daughter all the time. We are especially fond of Halloween and we like your website.
Thanks!
Heather
The second song sounds like it’s to the tune of Frère Jacques.
Thanks for sharing those wonderful Halloween songs with us Heather! If anyone else would like to post a song for the holiday, feel free to add it in the comments below.
Happy Halloween!
Mama Lisa
P.S. Thanks to Lila for the Halloween drawing! If anyone else would like to share their kid’s drawing with us, please email me. -Lisa
Children and Idiomatic Expressions, and a Great New Kids Book
Friday, October 17th, 2008Kids are funny.
My daughter was recently playing on her Gameboy (the handheld gaming system). I said something to her, but she was so absorbed that she completely didn’t hear. So I commented to her friend, who was also there, that my daughter was lost in another world. Her friend asked, “Why? Was she trapped?” I explained that, no, I was just using an expression meaning “when someone is so involved in what they’re doing that they don’t notice anything around them”.
It’s in this type of spirit that the book Butterflies in My Stomach, by Serge Bloch was written. You follow the main character though his first day of school. It’s full of idiomatic expressions that are illustrated literally. For example, the kid has butterflies in his stomach – so there’s an ink drawing of the kid with actual butterflies in his stomach.
Many of these expressions are funny on their own. Children love the expression, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” Bloch has a page where cats and dogs are raining down from the sky. It’s a hoot for kids to see this actually illustrated in a book.
The book gives you a chance to discuss these unique expressions with your child, in a funny way.
Some Silly Spanish Snot Songs + a YouTube Video
Thursday, June 26th, 2008All cultures seem to have their share of disgusting songs. They may gross you out – but they can make you laugh – even as adults! Here’s one I believe is originally from Spain called Yo tengo un moco – I Have a Booger! You can see a silly YouTube video of it after the lyrics, which are in Spanish and English (I did a quick translation). After that you’ll find another snot song from Mexico in Spanish, with an English translation too. I hope it doesn’t gross you out too much!
Yo tengo un moco
(Spanish Lyrics)Yo tengo un moco
lo saco poco a poco
lo redondeo
lo miro con deseo
yo me lo como
y como me sabe a poco
volvemos a empezarI Have a Booger
(English Translation)I have a booger
I pull it out little by little
I roll it up
I look at it with desire
I eat it
And as it hasn’t much taste,
We start over again!Here’s a song that seems to be originally from Mexico called Si quieres ser feliz metete el dedo a la nariz – If You Want to Be Happy, Put Your Finger to Your Nose…
Si quieres ser feliz metete el dedo a la nariz
(Spanish Lyrics)Si quieres ser feliz
métete el dedo a la nariz
si quieres ser otro poco
métete el dedo y saca el moco
El moco, el moco
el moco te gustará
el moco, el moco,
el moco te encantará
Mi tío Tomás, quería más
Mi tía María se los comía
Mi tía Lolita, los hacía bolita
mi tío José, yo no sé
El moco, el moco, el moco te gustará.If You Want to be Happy Put Your Finger to Your Nose
(English Translation)If you want to be happy
Put your finger to your nose
If you want to be a little happier
Get your finger and remove the snot,
The snot, the snot,
You’ll like the snot,
The snot, the snot,
The snot will enchant you.
My uncle Thomas, would want more,
My aunt Mary would eat them all,
My aunt Lolita, would make them into a little ball,
My uncle Jose, I don’t know at all,
The snot, the snot, you’ll like the snot.Many thanks to Kristen for pointing out Yo tengo un moco and to Monique Palomares for help with the Spanish! Feel free to share your booger songs, other versions of the songs above, or other funny kids songs in the comments below.
-Mama Lisa
1st Grade Rocks!
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008Miss Gellatly’s first graders show how a class can work together to create a meaningful end-of-year project. Here’s their poem that they wrote as a group. You can hear them reciting it in the mp3 below…
1st Grade Rocks!
We add and subtract.
We learned all the facts.
Our field trips were cool.
Then we went back to school.
Recess was fun.
We run run run!
We did all the math tests.
And we tried our best!
Miss Gellatly was fun!
Her hair is like the sun!
I will miss 1st grade.
Hello Second Grade!Written by Miss Gellatly’s First Grade Class
Many thanks to Miss Gellatly’s Class for sharing their poem and recording with us!
-Mama Lisa
Language Learning – Free Recordings To Help
Monday, May 19th, 2008There’s no better way to learn a foreign language than to hear it spoken. The internet can be a great tool for finding recordings that can help, but sometimes it can be hard to find what you need.
Fortunately, the good folks at Open Culture have done the work for us. Here’s an updated collection to dozens of language lessons podcasts. In addition to favorites like French and Spanish, you’ll find less popular (in America) tongues like Tagalog and Luxembourgish. There’s even some that cover Latin!
Online Knitting, Crocheting and Embroidery Books
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Project Gutenberg has some great books that are in the public domain that you can enjoy online or download for free. Most of them are older, but many are as fresh today as when they were first written.
Today I found some on crocheting, knitting and embroidery. If you’re interested in any of these art forms you may enjoy looking at these books.
But first, here’s a poem called “The Praise of the Needle”, by John Taylor, that I thought you might enjoy. It was in one of the books:
Flowers, Plants and Fishes, Birds, Beasts, Flies, and Bees,
Hills, Dales, Plains, Pastures, Skies, Seas, Rivers, Trees,
There’s nothing near at hand, or farthest sought,
But with the needle may be shap’d and wrought.
Here are some of the books with links to their download urls at Gutenberg:Exercises in Knitting
Knitting, Crochet, Point-Lace, etc.
Beeton’s Book of Needlework
Encyclopedia of Needlework
The Development of Embroidery in America
Jacobean Embroidery
Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving
The Art of Modern Lace Making
International Student Exchange Programs
Monday, February 11th, 2008Ed Gawlinski, who’s been involved with various cultural organizations throughout his life, sent me this email…
I get emails from AFS (American Field Service) from time to time. AFS is an organization that promotes cultural exchange. It was started by members of the United States’ volunteer ambulance corp (American Field Service) who served during World War I in France. They saw, first hand the horrors of war and believed that if people from different countries got to know each other as individuals they would work to prevent future wars.
When my daughter was a year old, we had an exchange student from Switzerland. She became part of our family. The last day of her stay with us was the birth of our second daughter, which she witnessed. Our second daughter went to Switzerland during the summer of her high school sophomore year to study French and stay with the parents of our former exchange student.
Hosting an exchange student is a wonderful experience. AFS and other organizations that promote these are always looking for volunteers. I would think many parents who regularly visit this site would enjoy this experience.
Thanks for sharing that information with us Ed! -Lisa
Traveling With Kids
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008My family and I are planning a trip to France! And, yes, that does include my six year old daughter and thirteen year old son.
My husband and I are very excited, but we’re trying to go with our eyes open: It’s not going to be easy! Traveling with young ones is always a challenge, and the current low value of the dollar makes the financial burden that much greater.
Here’s a few of the thoughts we’ve had and resources we’ve discovered as we prepare.
Baby Jetsetter is a wonderful blog about traveling with kids. It’s focused on babies, so my kids are a bit old for some of the tips, but if you’re planning a trip with the diaper and pacifier set, you should definitely check it out. For instance, the latest post gives great recommendations on what to pack and what not to pack in your carry-on bag for the plane.
The falling value of the US dollar is making traveling more expensive for Americans. Just this morning the New York Times posted an article on some coping strategies. I particularly like the suggestion of one commenter to forgo expensive Parisian restaurants and, instead, plan some picnics of baguettes and wheels of Brie or Camembert. (And maybe some grapes or apples on the side. I can’t completely ignore my diet!) What could be more genuinely Parisian?
I can get by in French, and my son is studying it in school. But my husband and daughter don’t know a word. I’m trying to prepare them by injecting some phrases into our conversation where I can. A few bonjour’s and s’il vous plait’s may not seem like much, but they’re a start.
And then, of course, there are the books!
I’m planning on picking up Ludwig Bemelmans classic Madeline to help acquaint my daughter with images of Paris in a way she can relate to.
There’s only so much wandering around museums we can expect a six year old and thirteen year old to tolerate, so we picked up Fodor’s Around Paris with Kids. It’s filled with kid friendly parks, boat rides and amusement parks that will, hopefully, make the city of lights come alive for our kids.
And finally, my husband is an inveterate reader and a history buff. He refuses to leave the house without studying two thousand years of the history of any place he goes. So he picked up La Belle France, A Short History by Alistair Horne. When we finally arrive, he may not be able to speak a word, but we’ll have to struggle to cut him off from lecturing us for hours about the historical background of every monument and Roman ruin we visit.
It’s taking a lot of preparation and it’s going to cost us a bit, but I think traveling is very important for both kids and adults. And, despite all the anticipated problems, it should be a huge amount of fun!
Multilingual Kids Books on the Web
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008I’ve been asked twice in the past week for free multilingual books.
Here’s a link I found called Books in Multiple Languages. They have English children’s books with translations in Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Romanian, German, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Maori, Greek, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), Afrikaans, Croatian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew, Pennsylvania Dutch, Sloven, Indonesian, Malaysian, Hungarian, Dari, Hindi and Filipino.
If anyone knows of any other good multilingual book links, feel free to let us know about it in the comments below.
Someone was also looking for children’s books with animal sounds around the world. There’s one called Who Says a Dog Goes Bow Wow? by Hank de Zutter. You can click the link to see it on Amazon.
-Mama Lisa
A Child’s Drawing
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007I love children’s artwork. Here’s a great drawing by Lila!
Feel free to send me art done by a kid you know to post.
Teaching an Appreciation of Poetry to Kids
Monday, November 26th, 2007It’s interesting that in France they have children learn poetry as part of their schooling. Children have to memorize poems. Though difficult, memorization can help develop a special appreciation for poems. This is something that most of my generation in America didn’t really get as part of their general education. I often hear about people in the past from my parents’ generation having had to memorize material like the poetry of Eugene Fields. I think that’s partly why some people from that generation have such fond memories of his poetry.
I’ve noticed my daughter’s teacher is using poetry to teach reading in her first grade class. They read a poem or two a week and copy it into a notebook. I think it’s wonderful that her class is starting grade school with an appreciation for poetry.
One of the poets my daughter’s teacher likes is Douglas Florian. He’s very down-to-earth. Here’s one of his poems from his book called Handsprings:
What I Love About Spring
Trees are growing
Streams are flowing
Cool Spring showers
Blooming flowers
Caterpillars creep
Peepers peep
Playing sports
Wearing shorts
April Fools’
Swimming pools
Going places
Relay races
Days are longer
Sun is stronger
Every morning songbirds sing-
I love nearly everything!
Copyright (c) 2006 by Douglas Florian
I like the earthiness of this poem and I think young kids can relate to that aspect of it too. It’s a nice thing if you can help a child develop an appreciation for poetry. Finding poets and poetry that they can relate to is a step in the right direction.
-Mama Lisa
UPDATE: My original presentation of the lyrics of this poem contained misprints. Douglas Florian was kind enough to correct me.
________
Help Support
Mama Lisa's World!
$5, $10, $25
or any amount welcome!
