The links below will bring you to the audio, transcript, video, and pdf handout of each of the stories.
Episode 1: The Elephant and the Mouse What do people do in the park? They run and walk and maybe even dance. What does an elephant do in the park? Well, he writes poetry and makes friends with a mouse, of course! Listen along as the Small Town Spanish Teacher tells the story of “The Elephant and the Mouse”. It repeats the verbs “sees”, “runs”, “listens”, “says”, “writes” and “stops”.
Episode 2: Ed Wants a Girlfriend It can be hard to wander through life alone, especially on Valentine’s Day. Ed the elephant is searching for the perfect girlfriend. He wants someone who is nice, fun, and patient. However, as Eduardo discovers, those traits can sometimes be hard to find.
Episode 3: Ed is Fat Friends can be similar, but also quite different. Eduardo the elephant decides to change his lifestyle after his tiny friend Felix the mouse calls him fat. He runs and eats good food. Perhaps now Felix should change his lifestyle too!
Episode 4: Felix’s Birthday Party Every party has potential for fun and for disaster. Eduardo the elephant wants to create a perfect birthday party for his friend Félix. He invites guests, decorates, and prepares food – including lots and lots of cheese. He even buys a piñata! It will sure be a party to remember.
Episode 5: The Animal Band The world is full of musical styles and instruments. Some people like to sing while others like to play and even more just like to listen. Music truly has the potential to bring people together. Eduardo and Feliz enjoy making music and want to create a band. Eduardo sings, Félix and others play instruments and others just listen to the música. Discover where their music adventure leads them and the other animals that join their band.
Episode 6: The Girl is Sick When a child is sick, they should stay home. However, some kids pretend to be sick to get out of schoolwork. Jessica has a test. She pretends to be sick so she doesn’t have to take the test. She fakes a cough and cold so she can stay at home on her phone. What a great actress! This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “doesn’t”, “acts”, “cough”, and “school”.
Episode 7: Cake for Breakfast Birthdays are a special time, especially for young kids. Ruthie wakes up on her birthday wanting something special to eat for breakfast: cake! Her parents think that she should eat what they do, but Ruthie is determined to have her cake and eat it too. Can she convince her sweet grandmother to make her cake for breakfast? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “birthday”, “breakfast”, “cake”, “can’t”, “can” and “should”.
Episode 8: The Curious Bear Most people know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, but what if the bear is the intruder? Barry is a curious bear. He just wants to know what life is like inside of a house. Barry looks through the windows and sees and touches a lot of different things. What will this curious bear find? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “wants”, “observes”, “walks”, “perfect”, and “touched”.
Episode 9: Miguel’s Little Lie Miguel just wants to go to a concert, but his mom says no, even when he begs. So, Miguel and his friend come up with a plan that involves just a little lie. Miguel typically tells the truth, so lying is not easy for him. Will he be able to maintain the lie? Or will he cave under pressure? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “lie”, “says”, “sees”, “music”, and “concert”.
Episode 10: The Busy Mom When things get lost the logical solution is to look for them. Sometimes we are so busy looking that we don’t see what is right under our noses. Lourdes is busy. She tries to make time for her son’s problems, but sometimes her own problems get in the way, such as when she needs some ginger for her cake. This story is told in the present tense and has multiple repetitions of “Did you look?” and “I looked” as well as places around the house.
Episode 11: The Boots Luis enjoys his life as a rancher. He likes taking care of animals. Being on a ranch requires boots. Luis has a special friend that he wants to spend time with on the ranch, but she does not have boots, so Luis decides to get her some. Luis goes all over town, including the shoe store, the bank and the gas station as he tries to buy the perfect boots. Will he be able to get what he wants? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “needs”, “asks”, “goes”, “has”, numbers and many descriptions of people.
Episode 12: The Lost Cows Paula enjoys living in the mountains with her dog Bobo and her one hundred and fifty cows. But sometimes her cows wander off and need help getting out of some sticky situations. Paula counts her cows and when they are missing, she looks for them. Paula will do anything to help her cows if they get stuck. She will pull, cut and even sing to help them. Will she be able to help them all? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “needs”, “is missing”, “look for”, “stuck”, “hears”, and “runs”.
Episode 13: Ramona on the Beach Who doesn’t enjoy a day at the beach? Ramona certainly does. She goes to the beach every day and watches the tourists as they take pictures, play in the waves, and play in the sand. Ramona is not a tourist. She is a capuchin monkey. She is also a famous thief. This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “monkey”, “take/takes”, “tourist”, “steal”, “thief”, and “beach”.
Episode 14: I’m Bored! We all get bored. Georgie has a room full of things, but he still gets bored. When he tells people he is bored, they just send him away to do something else. Will he just stay bored forever? Or will he find something to entertain the day away? Listen in to find out in “I’m Bored!” This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “thinks”, “grabs”, “takes”, and “What’s wrong?”
Episode 15: I Love You, Mom Mothers often need to have patience as children learn and grow. Nadia is mother to Luisa and Perla. Luisa loves her family and she loves to help. But sometimes her help causes problems for her mother. All is well, though, with Luisa hugs her mom and tells her, “I love you, mom.” This simple story is told in the past tense and focuses on the words “listened”, “ran”, “wanted”, “said”, “responded”, “surprised”, “pretty”, and “love”.
Episode 16: The Magic Notebook Some students feel that they just don’t know anything, so why even try? Perhaps they just need a little bit of motivation and confidence. Daniel is not the smartest student, but he finds inspiration through a magic notebook. Through his magic notebook, he finds a recipe for success. This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “doesn’t”, “needs”, “listens”, “study”, and “solve”.
Episode 17: Time for Bed Life with a toddler can be fun and difficult. That is why routines are so important. When Lily doesn’t take her nap, the rest of the day is rough for her dad, Stephen. Perhaps a nighttime routine with soothing songs will be exactly what they both need to sleep. This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “sleep”, “throws”, “sings”, “reads”, and “doesn’t”.
Episode 18: A Winter Story Luisa loves winter. She likes the cold because it means snow and ice. She skates on the ice and plays in the snow. There is only one problem: it hasn’t snowed yet! This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “snow”, “ice”, “cold”, “snowflake”, and “frost”.
Episode 19: Miguel’s Music This story connects to episode 9. Perhaps you will remember “Miguel’s Little Lie”. Miguel wanted to go to a rock concert with his friend Wes, but, due to his lying, ended up going to a classical music concert with his mom and sister. Little did he know how much that concert would change his life. He thought rock music was the only sound worth listening to, but after hearing violins, flutes, trumpets, and tubas, he has a new appreciation for instruments
Episode 20: The Great Ronaldo Ronaldo comes from a family obsessed with football (or soccer), so it is no surprise that he wants to be a famous football star like his “tocayo”, or namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo. But Ronaldo only wants to play front and center, hogging the ball and making all the goals. He needs to learn the importance of each position to truly become a great player.