Arriba Abajo • Learning Activities
For each song on Arriba Abajo, we put together three activities you can do at home or school – whether you have one child, a group, or a whole class.
Target age: Children ages 2-6, but are not limited to this age range exclusively. We added notes about ways to adapt for younger or older children. Feel free to tweak and use these ideas with any child that you believe would benefit.
Vamos a cantar / Sing Now With Me
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Diez pajaritos / Ten Little Birds
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
El danzón y el cha cha chá / Danzón and Cha cha chá
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Cosquillas / Tickles
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Cielo, suelo / Sky, Ground
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Las dos vacas / The Two Cows
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Dame una A / Give Me an A
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Vuela, vuela / Fly, Fly
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
La semilla / The Seed
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Lunes, luna / Monday, Moon
Guía Educativa en español / Learning Guide in English
Listening to the album and doing the accompanying activities is a great way to enrich bilingual and dual-emergent classrooms, as well as households where children speak two languages at home. You can use the activities with children who are fluent bilinguals, emergent speakers just developing their second language, or with children who are monolingual and speak only English or only Spanish, to build language skills in their native language. Through the songs and activities, children acquire new vocabulary and academic language – in both English and Spanish – in a fun and innovative way.
Learning Guide Authors
This Learning Guide was developed in collaboration with master teacher Heidimarie Freund-West and singer-songwriter and teaching artist 123 Andrés. Special thanks to the following familias for their help in developing the guides: Louis and Carlos’ family, the Montoya Cabrera family, Maria Kammaraad and her family, Brooke Belville and her family, the Kopacko family, the Carollo family, the Eschelbach family, and the Diaz Evans family. Art and layout by Alcides Urrutia.
About Heidimarie Freund-West: Heidemarie Freund-West is a tri-lingual (Spanish, German, English), results-oriented, award-winning elementary school educator. She has over twenty years of experience working in elementary school classrooms, providing district level training for teachers, giving special trainings and presentations at UCLA and other universities, and consulting on multiple subjects with curriculum developers. Professional recognitions and awards include Distinguished Bilingual Teacher of the Year from California Association of Bilingual Educators Puente Hills Chapter, Outstanding Teacher Certificate of Merit for the Whittier City School District Superintendent, and Outstanding Contributions to Literacy Award from the American Literacy Corporation and International Reading Association. Heidemarie has a Multiple Subject K-12 Teaching Credential and numerous other professional certificates.