01 A Note From the Founder

There's a moment in teaching that you can't manufacture and can't predict. It's the moment when a child stops waiting for instructions and starts asking 'but what if I tried this instead?'

I saw it happen several times over the three weeks of the May Holiday Camp 2026.

I saw it when Myka — nine years old — independently suggested adding a resistor to protect an LED before any of the tutors mentioned it. That's not repetition. That's understanding.

I saw it when Raphael's Kahoot score jumped from 17,000 to 46,000 points between Day 1 and Day 9. Not because the quiz got easier. Because he got better.

I also want to be honest with you about what didn't go perfectly. Our DC Motors recap quiz scored 21% — the lowest of the camp. That topic needs more teaching time before we take these learners into Level 2. That's on us, and we're already rethinking the approach.

But here's the thing about a 21% quiz score in the middle of a programme where learners are building alarm systems from scratch: it means we're teaching things that are genuinely hard. And the right response to hard isn't to make it easier. It's to come back better prepared.

Twelve learners enrolled. Twelve completed. Every single one of them built something they couldn't do three weeks ago.

Thank you for trusting us with them.

02 What We Built — May Camp in Numbers

Three weeks. Twelve learners. Here is what happened.

• 12 Learners enrolled and completed

• 11 Sessions: 9 Online + 2 Physical build days

• 7 Kahoot quizzes tracking progress

• 60% Average accuracy — hitting our target benchmark

The camp ran from 4 to 23 May 2026 — nine sessions online via Google Meet, then two physical build days at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa. Learners came from both our Senior Class (ages 10–15) and Junior Class (ages 7–9), with one learner in individual 1-on-1 sessions.

The curriculum covered Level 1: Introduction to Electronics. That means starting from zero — what is an LED, how does a battery work, what does a resistor actually do — and working up to designing full circuit systems.

Here is the progression, week by week:

Week 1 — Electronic components: LEDs, resistors, buzzers, switches, batteries. First circuits built and tested in TinkerCAD, a professional browser-based simulator.

Week 2 — Voltage, current and resistance explained through the Borehole Analogy. Learners built traffic lights, doorbells, car horns, and alarm systems — in simulation.

Week 3 — Breadboards and DC motors. Group projects assigned: the Controllable Traffic Light and the LED Buzzer Reaction Game.

Physical Days (Week 4) — The same knowledge, applied to real components. No simulation. Real wires, real LEDs, real circuits.

The best quiz score of the camp: 78% on Day 6 — the Electronics Essentials quiz covering voltage, current, and resistance. The hardest topic in the curriculum produced our highest class score. The Borehole Analogy worked.

03 AI & Learning Today — What Comes After Electronics?

Parents often ask me: what does learning electronics have to do with AI?

Here is the honest answer: everything.

The AI systems that power the tools you use every day — from voice assistants to recommendation engines — run on hardware. Physical circuits that process electrical signals. When a child learns why a resistor limits current, they are learning the same principle that stops a CPU from overheating. When they learn how a sensor detects change and triggers a response, they are learning the foundational logic behind every AI input/output system.

But let me make it even more concrete. At Level 2, these learners will write code in the Arduino IDE to make their circuits intelligent. A traffic light that responds to a sensor. An alarm that detects motion and sends a signal. A thermometer that reads temperature and displays it on a screen.

That is not just electronics. That is the beginning of programming. And programming, in its simplest form, is what makes AI possible.

The full CodeImpact learning journey looks like this:

1. Level 1 (Completed) — Electronics: components, circuits, breadboards, simulation

2. Level 2 (Next) — Arduino: coding circuits to make them respond, decide, and act

3. Level 3 — IoT, smart sensors, robotics, and STEM competitions

At the end of this journey: learners who understand both how to wire a system and how to programme it. That is the foundation for AI engineering.

Your child has completed the first stage of that journey. The circuits they built this month are not a hobby project. They are the groundwork.

04 For Your Home — The Borehole Test

One of the most effective teaching tools we used this camp was the Borehole Analogy — a plain-language way to explain voltage, current, and resistance.

Here is how it goes: imagine a borehole. The water pressure is voltage (the force pushing things through). The flow of water is current (how much moves per second). The width of the pipe is resistance (what controls how much can flow). A narrow pipe restricts flow, just like a resistor restricts current.

Try this at home this week. Ask your child: "Explain to me what a resistor does — but you're not allowed to use the word electricity."

If they reach for the borehole analogy, you'll know the learning stuck. If they struggle, help them work through it together — you don't need to know the answer. The act of explaining is the learning.

One step further: ask them to draw you the circuit they are most proud of from camp. Have them label every component. Then ask: what would happen if you removed the resistor? What would happen if you used a bigger battery?

These are not trick questions. They're the same questions our tutors ask. And the answers reveal whether a child is memorising or genuinely understanding.

05 Learner Spotlight — Class of May 2026

This camp had twelve names on the register. All twelve stayed. All twelve built. Four stood out in ways our tutors couldn't stop talking about — and we want to make sure their families know.

Chrystal Manuella, 13 — #1 in class · 86% accuracy. Chrystal finished the camp with 72,478 Kahoot points and the highest accuracy in the class — 86% across six quizzes. She was the first learner to correctly explain resistor placement. She also built extended multi-buzzer circuits entirely on her own initiative. Our instructors commended her multiple times. Exceptional work.

Raphael Sekyewa, 15 — Biggest improvement. Raphael's Kahoot score went from 17,000 points at the start of the camp to 46,000 by Day 9. He built three battery indicator circuits without being asked. On Day 6 — the voltage and resistance session — he led the class discussion. That's the kind of turning point that changes a learner's relationship with a subject.

Myka Nshuti Mirembe, 9 — Junior Class Star. Myka was added to the Wall of Awesomeness twice during the camp — our tutors' recognition for a learner who goes beyond the brief. Her standout moment: independently suggesting that a resistor was needed to protect an LED before any instructor mentioned it. At age nine. That's engineering instinct.

Ethan Namara Agaba, 11 — 1-on-1 Champion. Ethan worked in our individual track and completed every circuit set for him. When he made wiring errors, he corrected them himself — without being told there was a problem. He also delivered the most articulate session recap of any learner in the camp. Clear thinking, communicated clearly.

To the parents of every learner whose name is not on this list: your child showed up for nine online sessions and two physical days and built electronic circuits from scratch. That is not a small thing.

06 Your Turn

Before the camp, I asked you: what do you hope your child builds or learns? Your answers were honest — skills for the future, confidence, something to be proud of, the ability to fix things.

I hope the last three weeks delivered some of that.

What comes next for these learners:

1. Level 2: Arduino. Circuits become intelligent. Learners write code in the Arduino IDE to build a Smart Night Light, Security Alarm, Digital Thermometer and more.

2. Weekend Programme. Hybrid Saturday sessions — a mix of online and physical sessions at the ICT Hub, Nakawa. 12 sessions over 4 weeks. Arduino kit included. Direct continuation from Level 1.

3. Level 3: Advanced. IoT, smart sensors, obstacle-avoiding robots — and STEM competitions. For learners who want to go all the way.

To enrol for Level 2 (Weekend Programme — Arduino): Visit https://codeimpact.co/hour-of-code. Or contact us directly: admin@codeimpact.co · WhatsApp +256 774 572316.

Hybrid Saturday sessions (online + physical at ICT Hub, Nakawa) · Arduino kit included · 12 sessions over 4 weeks

And now — my question for you this issue: After seeing or hearing about what your child built at the May camp — what is one thing you now want to understand better about electronics, coding, or how AI works?

Reply to this email with your answer. I read every one. Selected responses — named or anonymous, your choice — will open the next issue.

Keep Building. Keep Asking Why. Keep Going.

Alex Shyaka · Founder, CodeImpact

Building thinkers, not just coders.