MERIDEN - Just seconds after Tim Matthews made an announcement for the members of his ukulele club to meet in the music room, fourth- and fifth-graders came pouring through the door ready to strum away.

Matthews, the music teacher at Casimir Pulaski School in Meriden, began teaching the ukulele six years ago when arthritis stopped him from playing the guitar. The ukulele is a small four-stringed guitar that first became popular when the Portuguese brought them to Hawaii.

"Kids are always trying to play the guitar and it is very hard for them to learn and to find lessons," Matthews said over the sounds of 20 something ukuleles. "I remembered seeing The Beatles play the ukulele and I picked one up. I figured I could teach the kids and it could be a beginner step for them."

Matthews teaches the tiny guitar to his fourth- and fifth-graders for eight weeks during the school year. As the lessons went on, Matthews noticed a great deal of interest in the instrument from the kids and decided to form a club as an outlet for their curiosity. The group meets every Tuesday for an hour and works on learning new chords and different songs they play and sing along to such as hot crossed buns, Zippy Toad and the club favorite Eddie Kooshi Kashi Kanna Tosenary Tosenohka Sammy Kammy Wacky Brown, a title the kids can yell in unison without missing a step - or word.

"I can play the songs we learn in class and songs that I know on the guitar," Ayana Flynn, a fifth grader, said. "I have been playing the guitar since I was seven years old. I play the acoustic and the electric."

Matthews first used a $250 grant he received to first purchase 10 ukuleles and now he has over 20. He finds someone online and some of the students have even decided to purchase their own neon blue and black varities.

"Since we don't get grants anymore it has become tough to replace the ukuleles that I have," Matthews said.

"I urge the kids to buy their own. You can find them for around $50 and then the kids get to keep them and practice all they want."

And practice they do. The majority of Matthews' students can't wait until Tuesday rolls along and they get to pick at the strings. Many of them play other instruments and want to continue the club past fifth grade.

"This is so much fun," club member Dylan Ekstrom said, who was celebrating his 11th birthday. "It's unusual and not that many people play this. I also play the clarinet and the guitar."

While Matthews believes he may have the only ukulele club in Connecticut, the instrument is catching steam throughout other school systems. There are Web sites of other clubs that allow the students to tape themselves playing and to give tips to others interested in learning, something Matthews hopes to accomplish in the future with his group.