Counting and learning
Un elefante se balanceaba
A traditional counting song: one elephant after another balances on a spider's web.
Lyrics (in Spanish)
The English meaning is under each line.
Un elefante se balanceabaOne elephant was balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veía que resistía,since he saw that it held up,fue a llamar a otro elefante.he went to call another elephant.
Dos elefantes se balanceabanTwo elephants were balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veían que resistía,since they saw that it held up,fueron a llamar a otro elefante.they went to call another elephant.
Tres elefantes se balanceabanThree elephants were balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veían que resistía,since they saw that it held up,fueron a llamar a otro elefante.they went to call another elephant.
Cuatro elefantes se balanceabanFour elephants were balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veían que resistía,since they saw that it held up,fueron a llamar a otro elefante.they went to call another elephant.
Cinco elefantes se balanceabanFive elephants were balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veían que resistía,since they saw that it held up,fueron a llamar a otro elefante.they went to call another elephant.
Seis elefantes se balanceabanSix elephants were balancingsobre la tela de una araña,on a spider’s web,como veían que resistía,since they saw that it held up,fueron a llamar a otro elefante.they went to call another elephant.
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How to play
- Lay a rope or a strip of tape on the floor: that’s the spider’s web.
- One child is the first elephant and walks along the rope, swaying, with one arm swinging like a trunk.
- On «fue a llamar a otro elefante» (“went to call another elephant”), they pick someone, who joins the line holding their hand or waist.
- Every round there’s one more elephant. Count them on your fingers: one, two, three… up to six.
- Singing together:
- Before each verse, ask how many elephants there are now and let your child answer, in Spanish if they can: uno, dos, tres…
- Good for practicing:
- Counting from 1 to 6, balance and taking turns.
All the lyrics in the songbookThese lyrics with pictograms, to print