"Mike’s passion for sharing his ukulele knowledge is contagious! Classes were fun and easy to follow. Learning with your child is such a great bonding experience. Highly recommend taking lessons! Thank you Mike!!"
Keri-Lee, Parent & Child Program
Family Fun alert!
Strum Squad's Parent & Child Ukulele Program offers a fun introduction to ukulele playing with a focus on age-appropriate pop songs (Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons, Queen & more!), ukulele games, and exercises to keep you and your family engaged and motivated.
We're all here to have fun and learn how to play some music in the process!
Music Lessons. The Fun Way.
We've taught over 1000 students how to play their favourite songs on the ukulele in a fun and supportive group environment. Our students get to play family friendly games together that help us learn the ukulele in a way that is fun and lighthearted.
Practice Resources Included!
Strum Squad has a dedicated practice resource page with strum-along videos for each song learned in class to help your family bring the fun home with you between lessons!
Uke Rentals Included!
Ukulele rentals are included. The rentals are yours to take home for the duration of the program!
Note: if you already own a ukulele, you are welcome to bring yours instead of using one of our rentals (does not affect program fee).
Parent & Child Ukulele (Winter 2026)
OAKVILLE, ON - WEDNESDAY EVENINGS
When: Wednesdays @ 5:30PM
6 week program from Wednesday February 18th - Wednesday April 1st
Where: Canlan Sports Centre, Oakville ON
Uke rentals: INCLUDED
6 Week Program Registration: $149 per person (includes ukulele rentals & practice resources!) & family packages available (see registration form for all pricing options).
No experience needed - we’ll provide the ukes and teach you everything you need to know to strum along together! 😊
Parent & Child Ukulele (Spring 2026)
BURLINGTON, ON - TUESDAY EVENINGS
6 week program from March 24th to April 28th @ 5:45pm
Where: Brant Hills Community Centre, Burlington ON
Uke rentals: INCLUDED (you may bring your own if you'd prefer!)
6 Week Program Registration: $149 per person (includes ukulele rentals & practice resources!) & family packages available (see registration form below for pricing options).
No experience needed - we’ll provide the ukes and teach you everything you need to know to strum along together! 😊
Parent & Child Ukulele (Spring 2026)
ANCASTER, ON - TUESDAY EVENINGS
When: Tuesday Evenings (6 week program from May 5th - June 9th)
Time: 6PM (40 minute lessons)
Where: Ancaster Sports Centre, 1030 Lower Lions Club Rd, Ancaster, ON L9H 5E3
6 Week Program Registration: $149 per person (includes ukulele rentals & practice resources!) & family packages available (see registration form for all pricing options).
No experience needed - we’ll provide the ukes and teach you everything you need to know to strum along together! 😊
Meet your instructor
Lead Instructor: Mike Papaloni
Hey! I'm Mike.
I've taught over 1000 students how to play the uke in a fun and supportive group environment over the years. You may have even seen me performing as a band or acoustic solo act in your town.
Strum Squad is the program I created to teach my ukulele secrets with a strong focus on FUN.
There will be ukulele games and laughter along the way!
I look forward to strumming with you and your family!
Mike Papaloni
289-885-3503
STRUM SQUAD
PARENT & CHILD
REGISTRATION FORM
Please fill out the form below to complete your family registration for the program. This form takes about 5 minutes.
Questions?
Contact Mike: 289-885-3503
FAQs
How does the Strum Squad Parent & Child ukulele program work? What can I expect?
The Strum Squad Parent & Child ukulele program is a once per week, 6 week beginner group ukulele program designed to have parents/guardians bonding with their kid(s) over music in a fun, community-focused environment. We're here to laugh, have fun, and learn a popular and social musical instrument together as a community.
Instead of learning bland nursery rhymes and intense music theory, our approach is to get everyone strumming to recognizable age-appropriate pop songs from day 1 and playing ukulele games together every 10 minutes or so is how we keep the kids energized to learn. These are songs that both you and your kid(s) will enjoy. As a matter of fact, our students leave their first lesson knowing how to strum along to an Aretha Franklin song. In the following weeks, we'll learn the chords and techniques required to strum along to songs from artists such as Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, and more (KIDS program)! This keeps them motivated to learn because they're playing familiar songs (heard on the radio or in movies) that they actually enjoy!
This is a group lesson program with anywhere between 10 - 20 participants - this group will be your family's STRUM SQUAD for the 6 week program (and perhaps even beyond that!). We bring in an assistant instructor to help out with groups over ~18 students to ensure everyone gets individual, 1-1 attention to as needed during each lesson while the lead instructor can keep the lesson moving. This way, no one gets left behind!
Unlike private lessons, having a small group learning together as a community allows us to unlock fun ukulele "party games" that keep the kids engaged and motivated to learn. You can expect to play anywhere between 2 - 4 different ukulele games each week that all incorporate what we've learned on the ukulele. This is how we "trick" our kids into doing the hard work of practicing their ukuleles without even realizing it - because it just feels like play to them. Think ukulele chord relay races, Simon Says (calling out different chords to switch between), and Freeze Dance (except we're strumming, not dancing!).
And don't worry - these games are as much for the adults' amusement as they are for the kids'!
We send out a lesson recap email to all families each week to guide your 5 minutes of daily practice as a family with links to our very own practice videos and strum-alongs, covering everything we learn together in video-recap format. Think of this as an interactive play-along song book that the kids love!
What happens if we miss a lesson?
If you and your family can't make one of the lessons, we have a dedicated practice videos page on our site that covers everything we learn in the program as well as strum-along videos to all the songs we learn (Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons, Queen, OneRepublic and more!) so families are able to catch up quickly if they ever miss a lesson from time to time.
After each lesson, all participants will receive a lesson recap email with a detailed outline of what we covered in class and a link to the appropriate practice videos to strum along to when practicing.
We also have 15 minutes before each lesson time (we have the room for an hour and the lesson is 45 minutes) where families can come early to get their ukes tuned up and get a quick 1-1 lesson from me if they missed the previous week or just need a refresher. No one gets left behind!
Do we need a musical background/understanding of music to join?
We are an absolute beginner music program - this means no experience required and if you've never played a musical instrument before, you'll be in good company with the others who are learning alongside you!
We provide the ukes and everything you'll need to learn how to play.
What age group is this program for?
Our Parent & Child program is designed for ages 4-12. Our family programs are designed to be fun and accessible for a wide age range to enjoy (including the parent/guardians!). If you have older kids/teens, you're welcome to join our Strum Squad Social programs for adults together - please note participants under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult for the adult programs!
We always provide alternatives for the younger students when learning each song (such as staying on a simple chord, playing the drums, singing along, etc) to ensure everyone is having fun and able to jam along as a band!
I would like to register my child for this program but I can't attend. Can I send them alone or with their aunt/uncle/grandparent etc.?
While it is mandatory for each child under the age of 14 to be accompanied by an adult for our family programs, we love to see kids learning with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, or guardian! If you can't attend our lessons but have a close friend or relative willing to accompany your kid(s) instead, this works for us! Please leave a note in your registration form to let us know the relationship between adult & child (aunt, grandparent, friend, etc.) and please provide their phone & email in the notes section.
We can't make this session but would like to attend a session in the future when we're available. Can you notify us when Strum Squad returns to our town?
Yes! Please join our Upcoming Programs Waitlist to be notified of upcoming programs near you. See you next time!