«Yo Tenía Diez Perritos»: Dog Park Countdown

Using the traditional Spanish song «Yo tenía diez perritos» («I had ten little dogs»), we count down on our fingers, and each verse one puppy goes somewhere different and we all move like it: to the snow, the river, the mountain or to bed. It works on varied movement and counting backward.

How to play

1. Hold up ten fingers and sing the countdown, folding one finger each verse (2 min).
2. Change the verses: the puppy going to the snow walks shivering, the river puppy swims, the mountain puppy climbs, the fair puppy jumps, and we all do it (3 min).
3. Each verse, move around the yard on all fours or trotting like puppies and stop at the place in the verse (3 min).
4. Kids suggest new places for the puppies and how to move there (2 min).
5. When no puppies are left, everyone lies down to sleep in the doghouse (1 min).
6. Wake up stretching like dogs and shaking off the water (1 min).

Rules

• Fold one finger each verse.
• Move like the puppy in the verse.
• On all fours, go slow and look ahead.
• Everyone keeps playing to the end.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: do the moves with the arms (swim, climb, shiver) and count on fingers the same.
• Visual impairment: the teacher describes the move in words before each verse.
• Less coordination: replace crawling on all fours with crouched walking.

Learning goals

• Change ways of moving on cue.
• Count backward from ten to zero.
• Enjoy an adapted traditional song.

Teacher tip

The traditional lyrics have sad lines for each puppy; swap them for trips and nobody gets upset. Knees suffer on hard ground, so keep the all-fours part short or do it on grass.

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