A Father's Day Tribute - Supporting the Boys and Family that Lost their Dad in an Airplane Crash

Once when I was little, I was sitting on the carpet of our living room when I pulled one of my pink corduroy pant legs up over my calves. I don't remember why I did this - but doesn't it just sound like something a kid would do? When I tried to pull the pant leg back down, it was stuck on my calf. I remember feeling very panicked that I was "stuck," and calling to my dad as I struggled to pull down my pant leg. He came strolling into the room, bent down, and quickly and easily pulled my pant leg back down over my calf.

I share this story now because I want to honor all of the little things that define our relationships with our fathers, and how they shape us. I also want to remember the other men in my life and how they have blessed me.

I was incredibly moved as I listened to a Father's Day podcast this weekend, narrated by two brothers. (They had a third brother that was not able to join the podcast.) The two brothers shared their story about losing their dad to a small airplane crash (he was a pilot) when they were ten and eight, and their little brother was four. While the story starts with a tragedy and still it, the three brothers honored their father, and grew up to become great father figures themselves. This was in part due to the other men in their lives that stepped up to help bless their family.

Brian, K.C., and Jeff with their Father. Photo from LDSLiving.com.

Says Brian, the oldest of the three, "When my Dad died in a plane crash when my brothers and I were just 10, 8, and 4, a number of men in our church and community stepped up to help fill the void our amazing father left. Their mentoring, support, and sacrifice of time they could have spent with their own families made all the difference in our lives."

Please take a moment to listen to this beautiful podcast from LDS Living, the Hero's Journey, Episode #29, published on June 10, 2019. You can listen to it online or read it. I recommend listening, but there are also some great pics online. 

Personally, I want to share that I know this family well - I grew up with them, and I have always known that this family is a tight-knit group. Where my memory has faded and I have forgotten many of the incredible leaders in that ward, I remember their mother, who is a compassionate and strong woman, and I remember all the Blake boys. I know the youngest boy, Jeff, the best, as he was closest to my age. He is a great guy and was very patient with me when I think back about how obnoxious I could be as a teenager. I have one particularly vivid memory of one of the older Blake brothers defending his mom when another teenager in church was being very disrespectful to her. (The other boy had good redeeming qualities - this was just a moment in time of course.) It was so memorable to me because I remember thinking (and I was probably about 10 or 11 at the time) how strong they were as a family unit. The boys protected their mother in place of their father, but their mother, at the end of the day, was their mother, and was strong enough to defend herself. This podcast though, is about fathers, and fathering. 

Also, you won't hear the below comments in the podcast so I want to share some comments that Brian made on his Facebook page when he shared the link to this podcast (the quote from above was also from his Facebook page).

"Since this is a podcast aimed at members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is definitely a faith component to our story. If you know me well, that won't surprise you, as my faith is interwoven into who I am and everything I do."

I echo that comment in sharing that this podcast resonates with me because I know this family, because I share the same faith, and because of my experiences with being on both the receiving and giving end of the gift of service and time.

"Though our story starts out a bit depressing, I hope you ultimately take the lesson from our decades-long experience that the acts of charity and kindness we perform for those in need can have lasting effects on their lives, particularly when performed one-on-one. We live in a time when people are generous with their wallets and give to charitable causes (which is great!), but my experience, particularly from being on the receiving end, is that nothing is more valuable to those in need than giving of your time and yourself. It made all the difference in the lives of the Blake boys."

Mother's Day and Father's Day Childrens Choirs

My friend that is a chorister in a different children's choir in Springville has a very different way of teaching his Primary class music. He rarely uses visuals or plays games to supplement or motivate the singing. His Primary loves him, and he is able to effectively elicit active participation

For Mother's Day, he explained to the children that there were two main reactions they could elicit from their mothers on Mother's Day:

Reaction 1: "Awh, aren't they cute!"

Reaction 2: Heartful sobbing and joy.

He told them that while each reaction was great, that they should go for the second reaction, and that to get the second reaction, they needed to sing powerfully, watch him closely as he led the music, and to think about the words they were singing.

I believe the most powerful thing we can do as we teach children music is to make sure they understand what they are singing, and why they might be feeling a certain way as they sing the words.

Many years ago, I was teaching the song, "Nephi's Courage," and a child in the class that was less familiar with the Book of Mormon raised her hand and asked why Nephi, Laman, and Lemuel had to get the plates that are referenced in the song. I've linked to the song so you can read the lyrics. I said, "That's a great question. Let's open up the scriptures and find out. I believe this is in Nephi chapter 3 but can a teacher call out the chapter and verse if you know it?" We were able to find the appropriate scriptures quickly, and on the fly, look up and read the part of the story that was pertinent, make sure her question was answered, and make sure that what we were singing and learning was meaningful. To this day, this is one of my favorite songs in the Children's Songbook. 

Getting Ready for Father's Day and Mother's Day!

You have four Sundays left to practice Mother's Day songs, and then it's Father's Day!! Ah, Primary chorister life.

Just wanted to remind you (as my Primary counselor reminded me on Sunday) that there are also some great grandparent songs in the Children's songbook!!!

I'd love to sing a Mother's Day song and a Grandmother song to honor all of our mothers that are grandparents, too.

Last practice before Father's Day (Re- Learning "The Dearest Names" and reviewing "Love is Spoken Here")

6/9/ a.m. update - Sorry - a little slow on updates this month. I know I have left some holes with "TBD" unfinished that I just barely filled in. Please bear with me. I am the Girl's Camp director this year, too, and Girl's Camp is coming up soon :)

While the Senior Primary knows "Love is Spoken Here," the Junior Primary does not know it quite as well. So, in Junior Primary, after ensuring the children knew the lyrics for "Love is Spoken Here," I then explained to them how to sing the song as a duet. I was surprised and pleased by how joyfully they sang - they sat with their backs straight, totally intent, and SANG their little hearts out.

The next day, a friend of mine emailed me and told me about a little moment that happened while she was talking to her daughter on Sunday. The girl is about 5. This is her third year in Junior Primary. My friend said,

"She started humming and then she burst out, 'Mom, we sang the most beautiful song today in primary!'  She was talking about 'Love is Spoken Here.'"  

The girl then explained to her mom the fun way we sang the song (which is the traditional way - girls, then boys, then everyone.)

I wanted to share that moment because it was so beautiful and perfect.

This week's lesson plan
1. Teach "The Dearest Names." The children learned it last year so they just need a brush-up.
2. Review "Love is Spoken Here."

First song - "Dearest Names"

Junior Primary
1. Tell the children there is a word I am going to say over and over again in the song. Ask them to listen closely and tell me the word. (Name) If the children don't know the answer, sing the song again and have them listen again.
2. Next, ask the children to listen carefully and tell me how many times I say the word, "Names."
3. By now, they should be able to sing with me. Ask them to stand up and sit back down every time I say the word "Name."
4. There are three words used to describe Father (Noble, Brave, and True). Show them a motion to remember them and have them act it out every time we get to that point in the song. If time, discuss what Noble, Brave, and True mean.
5. Play a volume game to see how loudly they can sing the song. Either have a teacher walk down the hallway to show how loudly they are singing, or make a little volume meter you can use to show them how loudly they sang that song. Have a primary counselor adjust the volume to show the loudness on the meter.

- OR -

If I don't have enough time, I might just play an echo game. I sing a line, then one side of the room echoes the same line, then the other side of the room echos the same line again. This repetition will help them remember the lines more quickly. To make this more interesting, I could even make up a fun action for me, and for one side of the room, and for the other side of the room. Or, I could throw in some questions from above and mix them with the echo game.

Senior Primary
1. The children know this song and just need a review from last year, so first, I'll just sing it for them and ask them to join me if they remember the lines of the song.

2. Snap, clap rhythm game. I have done this several times before but couldn't find a previous post about it. I think I may have tagged this post badly. So, to explain it again:

a. One side of the room will be the beat of the song, which they will do by representing each note in a measure with a different motion. "Dearest Names" works if I treat it as 3/4 time so that means 3 different notes/actions per measure: hands on lap, then clap, then snap: I (slap hands onto lap), Know (clap), A (snap), Name (slap hands onto lap) (clap) , a  (snap), glor- (hands on lap), io (clap), ous (snap), etc.
b. The other side of the room will be the rhythm of the song, basically clapping their hands to the melody line of the song.
c. Switch and then have the other side do the same thing.

Second song - "Love is Spoken Here"

I didn't have time to make the volume meter like I described below, so instead, I want to ask a leader to leave the church building with a ball of yarn and tell us how far away she was able to walk before she could no longer hear us. She can come back and show us how much yarn it took! The object here is to encourage the children to sing loudly.

Both Junior and Senior Primary now this song now so I think I just want to sing it a couple of times, maybe with a Volume Meter and a Mumble Meter. I have an idea of how to make one with a strip of paper you can pull up ... so I'll post it and make a note that I've updated this post when I make it. That might not be until Saturday thoguh. I started thinking I could make funny pictures, but then the more I think about it now, the more I think that I like the reminder from Henkel House in the comments section a couple of posts ago, about how she made a super simple visual that was a big hit. I think I just want to focus on a big strip of color and big, fun meters, thermometer-style. I am basing this on things I remember vaguely from when I was in elementary school - definitely not a new concept!

If I have time remaining in Senior Primary, I will work on other volume and enunciation games.

Bring out the Bells! Father's Day Preparation: "Love is Spoken Here" and "The Dearest Names"

Change of plans: I moved working on "When I Am Baptized" to Father's Day ... possibly mixed in with some Father's Day activities. You can see the preparation I made for this song here. 

Today, I'm bringing out the Singing Time bells.

I have access to a large format printer (LFP) so I printed out a PDF of the song Love is Spoken Here and wrote all the notes above the music. I have found that it works very well if I label the name of the bell above the word of the song, then also point to the words as we sing :) I usually only do this in Senior Primary, because Junior Primary is always playing catch-up. I love that I can repeat this song several times to help cement this song into their minds, while the children wait for their turn with the bells. Everyone gets a turn.

If we have time, we'll work on Dearest Names, too. I made this last year, before I had access to a LFP. See how I introduced the song here: