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Circle songs and games

Juguemos en el bosque

A traditional circle-and-chase game: «¿lobo estás?» (“wolf, are you there?”), and when the wolf is ready, run!

Lyrics in Spanish with English translation

The English meaning is under each line.

Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Me estoy despertando!I’m waking up!¡Despierta, lobito!Wake up, little wolf!¡Vamos a jugar!Let’s play!

Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Me estoy poniendo la camisa!I’m putting on my shirt!¡Una manga!One sleeve!¡Y la otra más!And then the other!

Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Me estoy poniendo los pantalones!I’m putting on my pants!¡Un pie!One foot!¡Dos pies!Two feet!¡Listo para andar!Ready to walk!

Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Me estoy poniendo los zapatos!I’m putting on my shoes!

Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.Juguemos en el bosqueLet’s play in the woodsmientras el lobo no está.while the wolf isn’t here.

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Me estoy lavando los dientes!I’m brushing my teeth!¡Arriba y abajo!Up and down!¡De lado a lado!Side to side!

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Casi estoy listo!I’m almost ready!¡Ooooh!Ooooh!

¿Lobo estás?Wolf, are you there?¡Ya estoy listo!I’m ready now!¡De lado a lado!Side to side!¡A correr!Run!

¡Allá voy!Here I come!

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How to say it

Spanish vowels are short and clear: a (ah), e (eh), i (ee), o (oh), u (oo). Capital letters mark the stressed syllable.

juguemos
hoo-GEH-mohs · let’s play
en el bosque
ehn ehl BOHS-keh · in the woods
el lobo
ehl LOH-boh · the wolf
lobo estás
LOH-boh ehs-TAHS · wolf, are you there
la camisa
lah kah-MEE-sah · the shirt
los zapatos
lohs sah-PAH-tohs · the shoes

Off-screen

How to play

  1. One child is the wolf and stands a little apart. The others hold hands in a circle and sing.
  2. On every «¿Lobo estás?» (“Wolf, are you there?”), the wolf answers and acts it out: one arm into a sleeve, then the other; one foot into the pants, then the other; brushing teeth up and down.
  3. When the wolf shouts «¡Ya estoy listo!» (“I’m ready now!”) and «¡Allá voy!» (“Here I come!”), everyone runs in a clear space, and the first child caught is the next wolf.
  4. At home it’s a getting-dressed song: every «¿Lobo estás?» is one piece of clothing, and your child gets dressed along with the wolf.
Singing together:
Ask «¿Lobo estás?» in a mysterious voice and let your child answer as the wolf.
Good for practicing:
Waiting for the signal before running, clothing words and the morning routine.

More ideas for singing with your child

All the lyrics in the songbookLesson plan for the classroomMore circle games and how to play them

Where it comes from

«Juguemos en el bosque» (“Let’s play in the woods”) is the song of a traditional chase game by an unknown author. In 1951, Vicente T. Mendoza published a version in «Lírica infantil de México» that begins «Jugaremos en el bosque mientras el lobo no está» (“We will play in the woods while the wolf isn’t here”), in which the wolf answers that he is putting on his socks. It closely resembles the French game «Promenons-nous dans les bois» (“Let’s walk in the woods”), already in print in France by the mid-19th century, though how it passed into Spanish is not known.

Sources: