25 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas

Use these helps to easily teach Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas using all of the unique Primary music learning styles. This is a fantastic song that brings so much emotion and feeling to the Savior’s experience for each of us and is a beautiful song for Primary music leaders to teach in Singing Time.

Gethsemane Primary song was published in The Friend Magazine in March 2018. You can find the Gethsemane sheet music here. It is considered pre-approved for use in Primary since it was published in The Friend and is available on the church website.

Gethsemane is a perfect song to include as a song pick for the New Testament 2023 Come Follow Me Primary Program songs.

12 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas - Easy ways to teach Gethsemane song for LDS Primary Music Leaders including printable song helps with a variety of learning styles. Links to videos, movement activities, living music, and even a book for teaching with purpose!

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Gethsemane Flip Charts

Printable Gethsemane flip chart for LDS Primary Music leaders singing time!

A good first place to get started is by grabbing our Gethsemane Flip Chart or review the lyrics in that post as well so you can be ready to teach this beautiful song in Primary. You can pick from a colorful, black and white, or slideshow option!

How do I teach the song Gethsemane?

One easy way to teach Gethsemane song is a lyrics unscramble activity or a flip chart unscramble. Try to get all of the words or pictures back in the correct order while singing with lots of repetition.

After that, my favorite is to try this sway and freeze to build in movement while singing the song lyrics. Or, try the What Comes Next game where you will start to sing the line and have the Primary children echo back what comes next. There are lots of ideas below so pick your favorite activities here!

8 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas

This post will help you find all of my Gethsemane teaching ideas around this blog. Plus, I’m also sharing additional favorite lesson plans from other Primary music leaders at the end of this post!

1. Gethsemane – Egg Shakers

Gethsemane Egg Shaker patterns singing time idea and printable lesson plan for LDS Primary Music Leaders

Use egg shakers to teach Gethsemane. It helps highlight the mood and feeling throughout the song as you change from slow beats to fast beats and a variety of egg shaker movements. I’ve also used egg shakers to help create the movement and motions of the song with helping to picture the song with this manipulative!

2. Gethsemane – Jesus Loves Me Drawings

Gethsemane coloring pages - Jesus Loves Me drawing ideas and coloring activity for LDS Primary Music Leaders singing time.

Get hands on with this Gethsemane Jesus Loves Me Drawings singing time idea. The children can color in a picture with a choice of a few options and write in what is one way they know that Jesus loves them. Or, give more flexibility and have the children draw pictures that represent the Savior’s love for them.

3. Gethsemane – Lyrics Unscramble

Gethsemane Lyrics Unscramble singing time ideas for LDS Primary music leaders with printable song helps to teach this song

For a fun challenge for the kids, they will absolutely love this Gethsemane Lyrics Unscramble! Break up the kids into small groups and have them unscramble the lyrics in word strips. Then, they can pick strips to flip over to add more repetition and fun. This one was a huge hit, and works especially well with Senior primary. You can use different color lyrics to make it a little easier if you have a younger group in your Primary.

4. Gethsemane – What Comes Next

Gethsemane What Comes Next singing time ideas for teaching this primary song with printable lesson plan for teaching the music

After spending a few weeks with this song, your primary children will be ready for a challenge! Use this Gethsemane What Comes Next activity to build in an Echo Singing like I used for I Know My Father Lives.

You’ll sing the written words with the Primary kids, then let them fill in the … by singing out loud what part comes next! Each dot represents a missing word.

5. Gethsemane – Testimony

I highly recommend sharing your testimony at least once with every Primary song you teach, but this one is especially themed to sharing your testimony of a personal experience with the Atonement.

Your testimony doesn’t have to go into a lot of details of your hard things and doesn’t have to be about a time you needed repentance, the Atonement also gives us a strengthening power to overcome our trials and difficult experiences in life.

6. Gethsemane – Sway and Tap

Teach Gethsemane Sway and Tap singing time ideas and printable lesson plan for LDS Primary Music Leaders

Add in purposeful movement to teach Gethsemane Sway and Tap activity. Plus, you can extend the activity with the 6 included additional actions to add in even more repetition and fun actions while you sing through the song. Sway to the melody and tap on the keywords.

7. Gethsemane – Easter Christ’s Final Week

Gethsemane Last week of Christ's life Easter singing time ideas for LDS Primary music leaders song helps to learn the music with hands-on objects and activities.

Bring a lot of meaning to the Primary song Gethsemane with this hands-on singing time idea. You’ll walk through the final week of Christ’s life while singing through your choice of Easter song. It will work perfectly with Gethsemane or whichever song you might choose. I like including it with this song as it really brings to focus the Garden of Gethsemane part of his last week just after the Last Supper.

8. Gethsemane – Rhythm Sticks

Gethsemane Rolling Rhythm Sticks singing time idea for LDS Primary music leaders teaching activity

Try out this fun Gethsemane Rhythm Sticks series of actions! It’s a great way to get hands on with the music and make meaningful connections. There’s an easy pattern to get started and fun ideas to adapt the challenge to make it harder or extend the singing time.

17 More Different Ways to Teach Gethsemane Song

Now, I’ve source all my favorite ideas and activities created by other LDS Primary Music Leaders / Primary chorister to help you come up with the perfect ways to teach this song in your Primary room so you are ready for your sacrament meeting presentation!

1. Gethsemane – Handbell Chart

25 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas Singing time ideas for Primary Music Leaders M Gethsemane

Use the wonderful Play Along DVD or printable Handbell Charts by Merry Bells! They make it easy to use with just the classic 8-note set of Handbells! Use the promo code PrimarySinging to save 10% off any order.

2. Gethsemane – Picture Book!

Roger and Melanie Hoffman, who wrote and composed this beautiful song, have created a beautiful picture and “story” book for the song Gethsemane. It’s a perfect companion to bring in the book and read it along with the children to introduce this song.

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The Gethsemane, Jesus Loves Me book includes beautiful artwork from LDS artists and is 43 pages long. The book includes the sheet music and even a CD featuring the song so it’s an awesome value for all that’s included! Get it here on Amazon!

3. Gethsemane – The Atonement Video

This super sweet video shares the children teaching what they know and understand about The Atonement in this YouTube Video. It’s a great way to introduce the song and help the children connect with the meaning behind the song.

Just download the video to your phone or device before going to church so you don’t have any buffering or loading issues.

4. Gethsemane – Actions or ASL Signs

I love using actions that represent the words to teach songs! You can come up with your own actions or use sign language. Sometimes, the signs are a little difficult, but most work great and teach them something that is actually really valuable!

Gethsemane ASL Signs or hand actions to teach the Primary song

Head over to see this Gethsemane ASL Video to give you ideas for actions you can use to teach this song. She also has an Gethsemane Signs Explanation video that teaches each of the signs with what they mean.

5. Gethsemane – Sing Along Video

Gethsemane Sing-Along video by the LDS Church to teach Gethsemane in Singing Time

Use this Gethsemane Sing-Along Video from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website to introduce the song and beautiful music for the first time!

It’s a great resource that can be paired with any of the additional singing time ideas above or just used for a simple introduction one week, then teach the song in future weeks like we do in this Example Singing Time post to include 3 different songs each week.

6. Claire Gethsemane Video

This video is SUPER cute, and is my very favorite to share for this song. Little Claire was just 3 when she sang this song so it shows even the little child on the front row can sing along!

7. Gethsemane Dance Scarves

Follow along with Richly Singing’s Dance Scarves motions to help teach this song.

dance scarves for music leaders

I use dance scarves all the time they’re SO much fun to bring into your Primary! Pick up a set of Dance Scarves from Amazon here. Plus, to help you easily come up with your own Dance Scarves movement patterns, head over to grab my Dance Scarves Movement Cards.

8. Gethsemane Hand Actions (YouTube)

9. Questions & Signs (Singing a Song is Fun to Do)

10. Black & White Keyword Pictures (Facebook Group)

11. Take-home Song Booklet (Facebook Group)

12. Memory Match (Facebook Group)

13. Gethsemane Gift Bookmarks (Facebook Group)

14. Black and White Keyword Icons (Facebook Group)

15. Egg Shaker Pattern (Facebook Group)

16. Keyword Melody Map (Facebook Group)

17. Gethsemane Keyword Poster (Facebook Group)

See If the Savior Stood Beside Me Singing Time Ideas!

If the Savior Stood Beside Me singing time ideas

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25 Gethsemane Singing Time Ideas - Easy ways to teach Gethsemane song for LDS Primary Music Leaders including printable song helps with a variety of learning styles. Links to videos, movement activities, living music, and even a book for teaching with purpose!

What other fun ways are you teaching Gethsemane in Singing Time this year? Share your ideas in the comments to add to this resource!

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