Nanitas is Francisco Rodríguez Gómez’s website dedicated to his Spanish poems for children. Rodríguez Gómez is a poet, musician and teacher from Cádiz, Spain. He has published many collections of children’s poems and makes some of his work available on Nanitas.es.
When I choose poetry to use with children learning Spanish, I look for poems that are relatively short and concrete, with familiar vocabulary. Children do not have to know every word in a poem before we talk about it, but the main idea should accessible.
The poems on Nanitas are available as Word documents, so they can be edited if you want to add exercises or information. Choose Poemas on the right sidebar. These are a few of the poems that are most accessible to Spanish language learners.
- Poema para un año – This poem is about the months of the year. It includes the regional usage “la calor,” which you would want to explain or change. Calor is usually masculine.
- La tabla – This poem is based on the multiplication tables. It is easy for children who know how to multiply, and it is a good way to practice rhyme, rhythm and numbers.
- Tengo para mi niño
- Romancillo de María Casilda – This poem tells the story of a little girl who spills oil on her skirt. It has simple language and great rhythm.
- Los signos – A poem about the signs for mathematical operations (+, -, X, :, =)
- A María – A short, pretty poem about a little girl who makes a necklace of shells. There is a typographical error in the Word document, but you can correct it. In the second line, change the word collas to collar.
In addition to Spanish poems for children, Rodríguez Gómez includes some activities based on his poetry. I find the poems themselves the most useful material on Nanitas, but check the sections Jugueteando and LeoColoreo if you are looking for activities. You may find something you can use or adapt.
You may also be interested in this post: Spanish Poem for Children – Rimando ando
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