Galimoto

January 2020

This month we traveled to Malawi Africa! With the help of Google Earth and our interactive Promethean panel we were able to go from our own Placentino Elementary School to an elementary school in Malawi! We read the book Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams, about a determined 7 year old boy, Kondi, and his quest for making a galimoto. Kondi learns to use his ingenuity and everyday resources to craft a toy car, or galimoto, from discarded junk! We observed that as PlacenTinkers we share the same sense of ingenuity and perseverance!

Armed with screwdrivers and imagination we channeled Kondi’s passion and ingenuity by tinkering with the everyday, discarded “junk” that was assembled in our Makerspace. It became a Breakerspace! We took apart small electronic items like alphasmarts, laptops, VCRs, cameras, remotes and toys. In addition to the tinker tables, we had the opportunity to check out different centers around the room: a Lego Wall, a Marble Maze Run, an Exploration Station and a K’NEX and Magna-Tiles Station.

Kondi helped us to appreciate the sense of joy and accomplishment that comes with perseverance and a good imagination!