La Vaca Lola and more can be found in our new Spanish Nursery Rhymes book, La Vaca Lola. This fun and popular sound book also contains 5 other short nursery rhymes in Spanish, para cantar en español! All the lyrics are written en español and have the English translation, to help create a fun, educational moment for Bilingual Children or children to learn Spanish!
🎶 Songs included 🎶
- La Vaca Lola
- Debajo de un Boton
- Estrellita
- Cucu Cantaba La Rana
- La Arana Pequenita
- Barco Chiquitito
La Vaca Lola
La Vaca Lola, or Lola the cow, is a very modern kids’ song! It was actually written in 2011, for an Argentinean children’s Youtube channel, based on an old Spanish Nursery Rhyme called “Arroz con Leche”, or Rice Pudding. Children and parents, alike, love to sing this Nursey Rhyme as a bedtime story.
Debajo de un boton
Debajo de un boton tells a story, which is rare for nursery rhymes, about Señor Martín and a Mouse. When singing this song, if your child is old enough, you can engage your little one’s brain by asking them questions such as: What did Martin find under a button? Or was the mouse big or small?
Cu Cu Cantaba
Cu Cu Cantaba La Rana tells the story of a frog singing under the water. As the frog sings, he meets different characters, which is why it says he meets a “caballero” with his cape and hat This song has a lot of history. It’s first version was created in 1657! Of course, many versions have been created until what we sing to our children today; this sweet nursery rhyme for children!
Estrellita
Estrellita is Twinkle, twinkle, little star in Spanish! Both the Spanish and English songs are very popular, but the origins of this song are really interesting! It is a little-known fact that the French Version of this song came first! The first version ever written was in 1761 and you can find it in our French Nursery Rhymes book!
La Araña Pequeñita
La Araña Pequeñita is the Spanish version of itsy bitsy spider! The Spanish version is almost the same as the one in English– except for the”itsy bitsy” part. It’s a finger play song, which we know is super important for a child’s development of motor skills. But the cool thing about the Spanish version, at least for non-spanish speaking children, is that children learn how to associate hand movement with the lyrics or the words, which enhances their learning. Another very cool thing is that you have two words with the letter ñ which doesn’t exist in English so it’s a good way to get them familiar with the Spanish alphabet!
Un Barquito Chiquitito
Un Barquito Chiquitito is a classic! This traditional song is about a poor little boat that couldn’t navigate because he was so little! As children sing this Spanish Nursery Rhyme, they can learn the numbers by counting all the weeks that go by while the tiny little boat learns to navigate. Also, the song teaches them the importance of not giving up when faced with a challenge. This song’s lovely moral tells us that in the end you'll see what can be achieved with dedication and hard work when you really want to learn something!
🎶 Let's sing along to Cali's favorite Spanish Nursery Rhymes! 🎶
Take a look at the lyrics below and start singing along:
- La Vaca Lola
La vaca Lola, La Vaca Lola
tiene cabeza y tiene cola
y hace muuuu.
Lola the cow
Lola, the cow
Lola, the cow
has a head and a tail
and says moooo.
- Debajo de un Botón
Bajo de un botón, tón, tón,
que encontró Martín, tín, tín,
había un ratón, tón, tón,
¡Ay, que chiquitín, tín, tín!
¡Ay, que chiquitín, tín, tín!
Under a Button
Under a button
that Martin found,
there was a mouse,
Oh! Such a tiny tiny mouse.
Oh! Such a tiny, tiny mouse
- Cu Cu Cantaba la Rana
Cu cú, cu cú, cantaba la rana.
Cu cú, cu cú, debajo del agua.
Cu cú, cu cú, pasó un caballero.
Cu cú, cu cú, con capa y sombrero.
Cuckoo a Frog was singing
Cuckoo, Cuckoo, the frog was singing.
Cuckoo, Cuckoo, under the water.
Cuckoo, Cuckoo, a gentleman passed by.
Cuckoo, Cuckoo, wearing a cape and a hat.
- Estrellita
Estrellita ¿dónde estás?
quiero verte titilar.
En el cielo, sobre el mar,
un diamente de verdad.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
how I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
like a diamond in the sky.
- La Araña Pequeñita
La araña pequeñita
subió, subió, subió.
Vino la lluvia y se la llevó.
El sol salió y todo lo secó
y la araña pequeñita
subió, subió, subió.
Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washedthe spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider climbed the spout again.
- Un Barquito Chiquitito
Había una vez un barquito chiquitito.
Había una vez un barquito chiquitito.
Había una vez un barquito chiquitito
que no sabía, que no sabía,
que no sabía navegar.
The Little Tiny Boat
Once upon a time, there was a little tiny boat.
Once upon a time, there was a little tiny boat.
Once upon a time, there was a little tiny boat
that just couldn't, that just couldn't,
that just couldn't navigate.
I hope you enjoy singing these classic nursery rhymes in Spanish as much as we do! Check out our Spanish bundle which includes two more books full of catchy Spanish tunes!
More Creative Fun with La Vaca Lola
If you want to add some extra fun to your La Vaca Lola singalong? We've got an interesting treat for you! Head over to our free coloring book page and get ready for some artistic adventures. Scroll down until you spot the "Spanish" section, and voila! You'll find some adorable La Vaca Lola coloring pages waiting for your little Picassos.
While your little ones are busy bringing Lola the cow to life with their favorite colors, they're also strengthening those all-important fine motor skills. Plus, it's a sneaky way to reinforce the Spanish vocabulary they're learning from the song.
Who knew learning could be this much fun? So grab those crayons, markers, or colored pencils, print out the free coloring page, and let the colorful cow party begin! It's the perfect rainy day activity or a great way to wind down after a singalong session.
How to Make Spanish Learning a Natural Part of Your Day
Here are some more tips if you are enthusiastic about teaching Spanish to your toddler. Children learn languages easily, and the best part is that you don't need to be fluent in Spanish to help them!
The easiest thing is to start with the familiar moments of your day. Bath time is perfect for practicing 'agua' and 'jabón', while snack time lets you introduce 'manzana' or 'galleta' while your little one munches away.
When your little one points at everything in sight is another opportunities to turn it into a bilingual game. 'Yes, that's a dog! Un perro!' Remember that it's all about your enthusiasm rather than perfect pronunciation.
There are more situations in your day that can be used for adding a Spanish element to it.
- You can create a "Spanish corner" in your kitchen where you only speak Spanish. Maybe it's the breakfast nook where you practice "buenos días" and "leche," or the snack area where everything becomes "delicioso."
- You may want to have a special puppet that "only speaks Spanish." Your little one will be super happy when their toy friend joins in to sing "La Vaca Lola" or asks for "abrazos" (hugs).
- You can also combine Spanish with something useful like cleanup time. Use simple commands like "arriba" (up) and "abajo" (down). Before you know it, your toddler will be putting toys away while building their Spanish vocabulary!
Our advice is to keep it light and natural. Just like our nursery rhymes show, learning happens best through play and joy. Your toddler doesn't need formal lessons - they need you, some songs, and plenty of opportunities to hear and use Spanish in their everyday world.