MIDLAND, Texas — Victor Parra, is the music teacher at Bonham Elementary school and he started a donor page to raise the money for ukuleles.
Every morning Mr. Parra's students come in class to strum away on an their new ukuleles, an instrument that you wouldn't normally see in an elementary school classroom.
These students were first introduced to this Hawaiian originated instrument about a month ago after the ukuleles were donated to the class last March.
Since playing, they are enjoying themselves very much, "I love it," says Juan Arriaga.
"It's cool. I like playing it, it's nice," says Ximena Piono
The reason Mr. Parra chose the ukulele is because he is wanting to expose them to different types of music.
"I just thought this is the perfect opportunity for them to be more exposed to music and share the love that I have for music as well," says Parra.
Their small hands fit easily around an instrument that's smaller than a guitar with only four strings. So far their progress and enjoyment of this tiny instrument has made a difference, "just the way that their faces first lit up when they first saw the instruments, it was just the coolest thing for them to see that," Parra says.
He also notices that they are learning a little more than just how to play in the right key.
Parra says, "they come in and they're like 'do we need to tune our instruments' so they immediately come in, tune their instruments and they sit down and they are ready to continue to learn the next part that we are working on."
There is a good chance that this won't be the last time these students share their love for music.
"How I learned it, like I never learned how to play a guitar so it's my first time playing an instrument," says Piono.
"We're wanting all of the students to be able to get their hands on instruments and use music in more than one way than just singing every day," says Parra.
With some many other instruments out there, he teaches them that all it takes is focusing in and trying something new.
"I do want to continue getting them exposed to more instruments. Next year my goal is to maybe get pianos into our classroom as well," says Parra.
Parra set up a donor page last year where parents donated and the Cockrell Family made a generous matching donation to get the ukuleles.