For Seniors: Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy in April
When April arrives, the temperature rises and grasses and flowers begin to bloom, and we often find ourselves thinking, “Spring is here,” don’t we?
This time, we’re introducing fun activities and recreations recommended for April, especially for older adults!
We’ve gathered a wide range of options—things that get the body moving, engage the mind, and use the hands—so why not try the ones that look enjoyable to you?
At day-service centers and other senior facilities, please enjoy these recreations together while feeling the warm spring sunshine.
- [For Seniors] Fun Spring Recreational Activities: A Collection of Games and Play Ideas
- [For Seniors] Enjoy a Warm Spring! April Health Topics Roundup
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Recommended for day-service centers. A collection of craft ideas for April
- [For Seniors] Liven Up Cherry-Blossom Viewing! Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- April events and observances that seniors can enjoy
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For seniors] April haiku. Exciting
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [Elderly Day Service] Let’s all have fun! Games and recreational activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
[For Seniors] Fun for April! Games and Recreational Activities (11–20)
Flappy butterfly
A very springlike and adorable game, “Fluttering Butterflies.” You use a fan to waft butterfly shapes made from paper as light as confetti and try to get them into a ring.
It’s sure to be fun as a team competition or a solo challenge.
It’s a good arm workout, and you’ll definitely need to adjust your angles, too!
Let’s make flowers bloom on a withered tree.
The “Let’s Make Flowers Bloom on the Withered Tree” game is played by throwing flower pieces at a withered tree target set up on the floor.
Attach paper-plate targets with point values written on them to the tips of the branches of the withered tree target.
Using flower pieces prepared in advance—made by crumpling newspaper or air-dry clay into balls and wrapping them with tissue paper—players throw them at the paper-plate targets.
With each throw, more flowers appear to bloom on the withered tree.
It’s a perfect spring game that gets bodies moving while enjoying both the scoring and the changing look of the target!
Onigiri Kororin Game
How about trying the sure-to-be-exciting “Rolling Rice Ball Game”? Attach yarn to a paper plate and make rice balls and obstacles.
Place the rice balls you made on the paper plate and start the game! Reel in the yarn, and if you can bring the rice ball all the way to you without dropping it, you succeed.
There are obstacles made from plastic wrap or construction paper along the way, so be careful not to let it fall! The winner is decided both by speed and by how many rice balls you can transport without dropping them.
It’s a recreation activity that gets not only the older adults pulling the string excited, but also everyone watching around them.
Please feel free to use this as a reference!
Bamboo Shoot Digging Game
Bamboo shoots are one of the flavors of spring.
Some older adults may even have experience digging them up.
Here’s a perfect springtime bamboo shoot–digging game.
All you need are two things: newspaper and paper cups! Roll up the newspaper to make a stick and attach a paper cup to its tip.
Place more paper cups on the table to represent bamboo shoots, and you’re ready to go.
Drawing pictures on the cups or adding illustrations makes it feel even more authentic.
When you cover the ‘bamboo shoots’ with the stick’s cup, they pop up and are easy to pick up.
Set rules like ‘the first to get five wins’ to make it exciting.
It’s a fun way to exercise the arms, elbows, and shoulders, so it’s recommended for senior facilities as well.
mini-golf
Although it’s spring on the calendar, many of us may still be spending a lot of time in warm indoor spaces.
So this time, we’d like to introduce an indoor putting golf game.
All you need is cardboard and a ball.
Cut various sizes of holes in a flattened piece of cardboard and write in the point values.
To make the game more exciting, assign fewer points to larger holes and higher points to smaller holes.
Once you place the cardboard on the floor, just roll the ball as you would in golf.
You can use a racket, or even a cane you’re comfortable with.
With simple preparation, it’s fun even with a small group, and it’s also effective for improving concentration.
Paper Cup Fishing
Let me introduce a lively, indoor activity: “Paper Cup Fishing.” You’ll need paper cups, newspaper, disposable chopsticks and tape, plus some wire.
First, draw your favorite sea creatures on the paper cups.
If drawing isn’t your strength, you can paste on printed illustrations.
Tear newspaper into thin strips by hand and attach them to the cups.
The length changes the difficulty, so you can make larger “fish” harder to catch if you like.
Make a fishing rod with the chopsticks, a fishing line from newspaper, and a hook from wire—then you’re ready! Arrange the fish-shaped paper cups on a table and catch them with your rod.
You can play in various ways: first to catch five wins, or whoever catches the most in 30 seconds wins, and so on.
While playing, you’ll use many parts of the body—shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingertips—so it’s also effective as occupational therapy.
It’s perfect for recreation in senior care facilities.
[For Seniors] Fun in April! Games and Recreational Activities (21–30)
Exercise to the song ‘Spring Has Come’
The well-known children’s song “Spring Has Come.” This time, we’ll introduce a brain-training exercise you can do while singing this song.
First, let’s review the movements done over four beats.
After taking three steps in place, on the fourth beat clap your hands and lift your thigh—that’s it.
This may feel easy with just the movement alone, but doing it while singing the nursery rhyme will likely change your impression.
Because moving your body and singing while recalling the lyrics are separate tasks that stimulate the brain, it’s said to be effective for preventing cognitive decline.
It doesn’t depend on location or number of participants, so it’s also recommended as a recreation activity in senior care facilities.