In this post: Discover the best Spanish circle and arch games to teach a group of kids. Fun and engaging children’s games for learning Spanish inside the post!
One of the most effective ways to learn vocabulary for children is by playing games and singing songs.
Games that don’t require the use of toys provide kids with greater opportunities to interact and communicate with their playmates, while also encouraging creativity.
For kids that are learning Spanish, there are many fun traditional circle and arch games that make language learning more fun!
Many traditional games help build language skills because they often involve singing, clapping, and/or other types of movements to add rhythm as well as to illustrate the phrases that are being used.
Our list of Spanish hand-clapping games, or juegos de manos includes many of these.
Circle games similar to Ring Around the Rosy are known as rondas in Spanish. These games usually involve a group of children holding hands in a circle and singing and acting out certain gestures.
Other formations may include children lining up in two rows and holding hands in the form of an arch while other children pass through it.
Both these types of children’s games are popular in all cultures, and the Hispanic versions of these games are as just much fun as any of them.
If you want to offer your kids the benefits of growing up bilingual, we suggest you start with our Llamitas Spanish Curriculum for a done-for-you program!
With games, songs, stories, phonics and cultural studies, our academically robust curriculum levels are perfect for families who want to raise bilingual children.
Best Hispanic Circle Games
A la rueda rueda (To the ring, pastry ring)
This is a traditional ronda in which children stand in a circle and hold hands while moving in the same direction, very much like Ring Around the Rosy.
A la rueda, rueda To the ring, pastry ring
de pan y canela. Of bread and cinnamon
Dame un besito Give me a kiss
y vete a la escuela. And go off to school
Si no quieres ir, If you don’t want to go,
acuéstate a dormir. Lie down and go to sleep.
In this game, the kids walk in a circle in the same direction while singing the song in unison, and after the phrase “dame un besito” each child kisses the child next to them. They continue singing and after the line “acuéstate a dormir” all the children fall to the floor and lie down.
Related Post: La lotería: A traditional Spanish Board Game
Juguemos en el bosque (Let’s Play in the Woods)
This traditional game is one of the most widely known in Spanish speaking countries. Also known as ‘¿Lobo estás?’ it’s similar to ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’ but instead of asking the time, the children join hands and skip around in a circle singing the lyrics:
Juguemos en el bosque mientras el lobo no está (Let’s play in the woods while the wolf is not here)
They ask ‘¿Lobo estás?’ (Are you there wolf?)
The wolf answers by saying that he is putting on a piece of clothing. For example ‘Me estoy poniendo los pantalones’ (I’m putting on my pants). But eventually he will say ‘Te voy a comer!’ and runs after one of the children, trying to tag them.
This fun song is found in our Unit 3 (El bosque) Level 1 Llamitas Spanish curriculum, along with a corresponding reader!
Al Corro de la Patata (The Potato Circle)
This is a circle game played with children holding hands in a circle and skipping together in a clockwise motion to the tune of the song:
Al corro de la patata, To the potato circle
comeros ensalada, We will eat salad
lo que comen los señores, What the gentlemen eat
naranjitos y limones. Oranges and lemons
¡Achupé, achupé! Achupé, achupé
sentadito me quedé. I ended up sitting down
At the line “Achupé, achupé” the children stop and get into a squatting position, placing the hands on the knees. After the line “sentadito me quedé” all the children drop to the floor and sit down.
A la zapatilla por detrás (To the shoe from behind)
There are different versions of this game for both younger and older children. With older kids, the game is played with all but one child sitting in a circle with eyes closed singing the song.
The remaining child will remain standing and, while the others cover their eyes with their hands and sing, will hide a shoe behind one of the others.
The child who finds the shoe must then attempt to take the place of the one who was standing. Whoever gets to the empty spot can sit, and whoever is left standing will be the next one to hide the shoe.
As the song is sung, the children have to act out the directions in the songs, such as looking up, looking down, and making hand gestures to symbolize things such as beans and beetles falling out of the sky.
Among younger children, the game is simplified a bit, and at the end of each verse, the shoe is simply passed to the next child in the circle.
A la zapatilla por detrás, To the shoe from behind,
tris trás tris trás
Ni la ves ni la verás You don’t see it nor will you see it
tris trás tris trás
Mira para arriba que caen judías Look up, beans are falling
Mira para abajo que caen garbanzos Look down, chickpeas are falling
A callar a callar Be quiet be quiet
Que ahora a ti e va a pasar Because it is coming to you now
A la zapatilla por detrás, To the shoe from behind,
tris trás tris trás
Ni la ves ni la verás You don’t see it nor will you see it
tris trás tris trás
Mira para arriba que caen hormigas Look up, ants are falling
Mira para abajo que caen escarabajos Look down, beetles are falling
A callar a callar Be quiet be quiet
Que ahora a ti e va a pasar Because it is coming to you now
Best Spanish Arch Games
A la víbora de la mar
Two children make an arch by joining their palms together to make a “bridge”. On child represents ‘melón’ and the other ‘sandía’. The other players form a line like a snake, putting their hands on each other’s shoulders.
The children begin to sing the song, as the ‘snake’ begins to run (without separating) passing repeatedly under the bridge. When the lyrics say ‘día día día’ the children forming the bridge trap a child with the final ‘día’.
The children who trapped the child ask “¿Con quién te vas?, ¿con melón o con sandía? (Who do you want to go with? Melon or watermelon? The trapped child decides and replaces that person in the bridge. Then they begin again.
This game is included in unit 9 (Las frutas y verduras) in our Level 1 curriculum along with the song!
A la víbora víbora de la mar To the serpent serpent of the sea
Por aquí pueden pasar All of you can pass through here
Los de adelante corren mucho Those up front run quickly
Y los de atrás se quedarán And those at the back will remain
Tras tras tras Behind, behind, behind
Al ánimo (Cheer up)
This is a traditional arch game in which two children stand facing one another and clasp their hands together, then raise their arms to make the form of an arch.
One of these two is designated as a lemon while the other is designated as an orange (or any other combination of two different fruits, colors, or things). The other children form a line and pass underneath the arch while singing the song.
When the song ends, the two children who form the arch lower their arms to capture the child who happens to be passing through the arch at that moment. That child then becomes either an orange or a lemon and stands behind the orange or lemon team leader to form a line.
When every child has been captured and two lines have been formed, a tug-of-war ensues during which each line pulls in opposite directions to determine whether the lemons or oranges are stronger.
The song lyrics are as follows:
Al ánimo, al ánimo Cheer up, cheer up
La fuente se rompió The fountain broke
Al ánimo, al ánimo Cheer up, cheer up
Denle reparación. Repair it.
Uí, uí, ua, Ooheeh, ooheeh, ooah
La muerte va a pasar Death is going to pass by
Uí, uí, ua Ooheeh, ooheeh, ooah
¿A quién se llevará? Whom will it take?
Al ánimo, al ánimo, Cheer up, cheer up
La fuente sirve ya The fountain now works
Al ánimo, al ánimo, Cheer up, cheer up
De nuevo alegrará. Once again it will bring joy.
Uí, uí, ua, Ooheeh, ooheeh, ooah
La muerte va a pasar Death is going to pass by
Uí, uí, ua Ooheeh, ooheeh, ooah
¡A nadie llevará! It will take nobody!
Pasa mi sí, pasa mi sá (Pass my yes, pass my sa)
This is another arch game that involves two children clasping their hands and raising them in the air in the form of an arch while the remaining children pass through the arch singing the lyrics to the song:
Pasa mi sí, pasa mi sá Pass my yes, pass my sa
Por la puerta de Alcalá Through the door of Alcalá
Los de adelante corren mucho Those in the front run a lot
Los de atrás se quedarán Those in the back will be left behind
As with “Al ánimo” the children holding the arch represent oranges and lemons (or any other categories) and they lower their arms as they sing the last line of the song, enclosing the child that is passing through at that moment.
As in the case of “Al ánimo” the enclosed child chooses a side and forms a line behind the child that represents that side. At the end, the side with the most children wins.
Don’t forget to visit our Spanish curriculum shop for our series of Preschool and Elementary Spanish levels!
Maya is an artist and freelance writer from Cuba who has worked in Art Education, Language Education, Simultaneous Interpretation, Subtitling, and Literary Translations. She is also a Mom and Abuela, committed to providing resources for homeschooling parents (such as her own daughter!) and to all who value the conservation of her beautiful, native Spanish language.