Lullabies

Duérmete niño — Dolores Fernández
Go to Sleep Little Baby — Bessie Jones
Nana Naneta — Maria Escrihuela
Hiru Lo — Kanta
Whole Heap a Little Horses — Texas Gladden
Ninna Nanna — Venturina Marandella

Activity #1: Lullaby Recognition

1. Listen to two different American women sing their children to sleep, in "Whole Heap a Little Horses" and "Go to Sleep Little Baby". Find a beat to move to by pretending to rock a baby to sleep.
2. Listen again, and raise your hand when you hear the singer asking the baby to take a nap in each of the recordings.
3. Find the book, Hush—a—Bye: A Folk Lullaby (illustrated by Aliki), to read aloud to children. 
4. Have the children talk about songs and stories that put them to sleep. 

Activity #2: Lullaby Vocal Timbre

1. Create a play list of the six lullabies.
2. Have the children sit in a circle, each with a stuffed animal that they can rock as they listen to the lullabies. 
3. Listen to three different women sing their children to sleep, in Spain ("Nana Naneta", "Hiru Lo—Kanta") and Italy ("Ninna Nanna"). Encourage them to talk about what seems lullaby—like in these songs.
4. Each time they hear a different singer, have the children pass their animal to a neighbor. 

Cultural Link: 
Spain
Italy
Basque Country
The American South

Designed by Rita Klinger and Patricia Shehan Campbell