Gethsemane Easter Christ’s Last Week

Take a deep dive into this Gethsemane Easter Christ’s Last week singing time idea! It’s full of symbols that will help you teach and remember the significant events of the final days the Savior was on the earth.

For more details on the last week of the Savior’s life, head over to this helpful post on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website.

I plan to use this singing time idea paired with the Primary song Gethsemane, but you can use any Easter Primary song.

Head here to see 25 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas for more wonderful ways to teach this song!

Gethsemane Easter Christ’s Last Week

Use these hands-on sensory experiences to help the children step through the last weeks of Christ’s life. You can use any Easter song, or it works really well tied to Gethsemane.

How to Play:

Sing through Gethsemane (or your choice of Easter song) once before introducing the activity.

Bring out one object at a time. You can hide them and have the children try to guess what the object is by touch. Then reveal the object and make a connection with one of the things the Savior might have felt his final week.

• Palm Leaf: The palm leaf is a symbol of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. It was also symbolic of his royalty and importance.
• Bread: You could bring in a warm homemade loaf of bread, of just any slice of bread. It will represent the last supper and sharing a good meal with dear friends. This was one of his last significant teaching moments and instituting the sacrament.
• Coins: The coins relate to when Christ went to the temple and threw out the money changers. It reminds us that money isn’t the most important thing.
• Soil: Spent time in the garden experiencing all the pain and sickness others would feel.  
• Soft Blanket: Christ was comforted by His Father and the angels strengthened him during that most difficult experience.
• Hard Rock: The rock can represent the trial and judgement plus the abuse Christ suffered with the hard-hearted soldiers.
• Nails: The nails represent the sharp pain Christ would have felt with the spear in his side and the nails in his hand and feet.
• Towel/Cloth: A white towel or cloth to represent the Savior’s resurrection and his beloved seeing Him again in person.

After each object, sing through your Easter song pick through.

Additional Ideas Easter Christ’s Last Week Singing Time:

• Place all the objects in separate bowl and blindfold a child. Tell them which object they are feeling for and let them try each bowl by feel until they think they have the correct one.
• Have one child come sit up front and hold the object, until you have all the items in a row. You can tie the object to a keyword and have them hold up the object when their word is sung throughout the song.
• Add an action for each object and repeat the object sequence as you add each new object:
  • Wave / Rolling Pin / Rub fingers (money symbol) / Tuck fingers into hand / Hug self / Pound fist / Touch palm / Point to heaven
• You can use our printable cards below to talk about the objects without the objects. Or use them to label your bowls.
• Put the objects out of order, and have the kids help you put them back in the correct sequence.

For another fun idea, I love the way Jessica combined my last week of Easter with a fun twist! Create a wreath by posting the symbols around the board in a circle as you work through each one. You can tie a different song to each theme to highlight the meaning of each symbol!

For another really in-depth and hands on lesson plan, your Primary children will love this I Know My Father Lives What Makes Someone Alive? singing time idea. It goes through breath with paper lungs, heart beat, and electrical pulses.

Gethsemane Easter Christ’s Last Week Symbols Printables

You’ll find 2 pages with cute labels or cards that can be used in place of the objects. They can also be used paired with some of our alternate singing time ideas as well.

You can find bonus LARGE full-page printables for this activity as part of March New Testament INSTANT Primary Singing membership!

To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!

For more information on why I use a content lock or how to create your account, you can see the FAQ page here.

Pop over next to grab this engaging singing time for Gethsemane Rhythm Sticks activity. It works great with individual kids or as a group activity!

What Easter Primary song will you use with this Easter singing time idea?