Tingalayo
Traditional, adapted by Eric Litwin and Michael Levine
Lyrics:
Tingalayo, run little donkey run (2x)
My donkey walk, my donkey talk
My donkey eat with a knife and fork. (2x)
Tingalayo, run little donkey run (2x)
My donkey dance, my donkey play
My donkey sing with me every day. (2x)
Tingalayo, run little donkey run (2x)
Boom boom boom (tonal patterns)
Tingalayo, run little donkey run (2x)
Mi burro come, mi burro duerme
Mi burro habla en espanol. (2x)
(Translation – My donkey eats, my donkey sleeps, my donkey speaks Spanish)
Tingalayo, corra burrito corra (2x)
(Translation - run little donkey run)
Tingalayo, run little donkey run (2x)
Activities:
Egg Shakers: Shake egg shakers to the beat and sing the verses. For the choruses, raise your hands and shake for “Tingalayo,” then move arms like you’re running for “run, little donkey, run.”
Rhythm Sticks: Do a drum roll on the floor with your sticks during “Tingalayo.” Then do a running motion with your sticks as legs on the floor for “Run little donkey run.” Then you can swap out actions for “run” (jump little donkey jump, fly, roll, ski, etc.) in other choruses. This would work best a cappella, though you could try singing other words like “jump” over the CD lyrics instead. For the verses, challenge your child to click their sticks together or on the floor to the beat.
Tonal Patterns: Sing “Boom boom boom” in different melodic patterns & challenge your child to echo after you. This builds their abilities to hear & sing melodic patterns in pitch.
Coloring Page & Sheet Music
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