Ms. Vigna
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This past week I finally feel like I hit my stride in kindergarten. Stations were running, books at independent reading levels were being read, we celebrated the end of a unit that we completed *together in person*. The only bummer? It’s *March*. In the Before, I’d be feeling this way in October. I know I’m…
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One of my favorite memories from my own kindergarten experience was a Valentine’s Day station rotation that imitated the process mail goes through to travel from one home to another. So when I started planning a unit on connecting with others as part of my Better Lesson coaching, I knew it would involve some kind…
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One of the many (endless?) struggles of remote teaching has been how much of my students’ days do I fill with learning? I, of course, want to grow their brains, but I also don’t want them to be in front of a screen *all* day. Another aspect to consider is their families: Some families want…
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For the week after Thanksgiving, our district was remote. Remote is not the end of the world, but it is very different from in-person pandemic teaching (and light years away from teaching in The Before). The structure and routines that I teach students in class don’t necessarily translate to remote teaching. One of the biggest…
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While it’s day 38 of the school year, it’s only MY fourth day of teaching kindergarten(ever!), and I’m totally in love. Some of my teacher friends from years’ past might be SHOCKED by this fervent feeling since there was a time that I only ever considered moving UP from fifth grade. But over my six…
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A few weeks ago, I learned that I would be teaching kindergarten in November if the School Committee approved a new proposal. They approved, and a two week countdown began. Between monster cutting and laminating sessions, I decided to collage a cover for a kindergarten notebook for all of my ideas, to-do lists, and PD.…
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Last weekend I attended the first-ever virtual Saturday Reunion from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Lucy Calkins had very powerful closing remarks that landed just right. Teaching is tough in The Now. Our elementary schools are about to bring back K-2 students (mostly) full-time. Lots of changes ahead for everyone that I know we’ll…
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Now that teachers are wrapping up their Writer’s Workshop launches, they are gearing up for their first standards-based units on personal narratives. This is exactly why next week’s theme is SPECIAL PEOPLE. I especially love the background knowledge resources: a special StoryCorps video and some of my favorite picture books. In fact, one of the…
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Since it is the most gorgeous time of year in New England right now, I decided that next week’s theme will be AUTUMN! To get students in the writing mood, I *highly* recommend taking them OUTSIDE for a nature observation walk. Check out the poems I selected and my resources and ideas for teaching them…
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This year, I’m pumped to support the second grade team! I spend my days helping students at home with their remote learning, so I created digital conferring sheets to record their strengths and goals. After filling one out, I share it with the teacher for their records. I’m hoping it will provide some consistency and…
A SEA OF TALK 