When I first decided to take on the skill of learning the ukulele, I knew that it would be a challenge. I knew that it would include several hours of practice and dedication in addition to our other assignments in this class. However, I was determined and eager to learn how to play. I pictured myself in my future classroom with my future students and thought how interesting and fun that it would be to be able to play in front of them, teach them songs and integrate music into my classroom. I believe that music is an important and beneficial concept that should be included in all schools. Music promotes engagement, motivation and enjoyment into classrooms. Also, I believe that certain modes of instruction can be facilitated through the use of music. For example, singing a relaxing song to inform students of quiet time, or even singing a song to settle kids at the carpet or prior to walking down the hallway. Overall, there are several vital benefits to implementing music into the classroom, which is why I decided to learn the ukulele.

By January 29^th, it was my first goal to feel comfortable with how to physically hold my ukulele, how to strum it, and how to tune it. When I first picked up my ukulele, I asked the lady I got it from to assist me with tuning it so that I knew its tune was correct. To double check the tuning, I also used an app to ensure that the sounds were correct prior to learning the chords. In addition, I also researched various videos on YouTube that taught me how to physically hold the ukulele. While doing this, I learned to keep the ukulele close to my chest, which was news to me because I initially thought to hold it similar to a guitar. However, holding the body of the ukulele near my chest felt more comfortable with the long neck part and the strings horizontal to the ground. I practiced holding the ukulele comfortability in my hand, with the strings in my left hand and the body of the ukulele in my right, while bending my right elbow to have a grip on the strings in my right hand to strum. Furthermore, I researched how to properly strum the ukulele. At first, I was unaware that in addition to strumming downwards, it is equally important to learn how to strum upwards. It took some practice to find the perfect strengthen in my fingers to not hit the strings too hard or too soft. It was also an adjustment to hit the cords smoothly while keep consistency with the strumming. After a few hours of practice after the tuning, I was able to feel comfortable with my physical grip on the ukulele as well as perform consistent strum patterns.