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.
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- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
[For Seniors] Fun in April! Games and Recreational Activities (21–30)
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.
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.
Exercise to a spring song
There are many spring songs, and most of them are bright and make you feel excited, aren’t they? And this very famous “Spring Has Come” is probably a spring song that everyone knows, from children to adults.
“Spring Has Come” has three verses, but each is very short, making it just the right length for exercises—and it’s fun to move to as well.
While expressing with your hands the movements of the things that appear in the lyrics, you also move your feet at the same time; it’s gentle, but it becomes a full-body workout.
Of course, it’s also an exercise you can do while seated.
ball slider
A “ball slider” is a game you make and play using a ball and scrap materials.
You build a long, sloped track out of something like cardboard, aim at a target, place the ball on the track, and let it roll with speed to land in the target.
The targets can be things like empty boxes or tubes made by rolling thick paper, each assigned a point value.
Assign lower points to larger boxes placed closer to the front, and higher points to smaller targets placed farther away.
You can also make it more exciting by giving each person, say, five balls and competing for the highest total score.
Spring Sports Festival
Many of you probably feel nostalgic about sports days held in the warm spring weather and wish you could do them again.
Even if you can’t sprint like you did back then, try holding your own sports day in whatever way you can.
You’ll likely find it just as exciting as it was in those days!
Fly away, balloon!
It’s a game where you use beanbags to knock balloons out of a marked area.
Having everyone shout “Ei, ei, oh!” before starting could help energize the body.
Focusing on the target and actually throwing—these are movements we don’t often do at home, so it’s great to have opportunities like this.
Another nice thing about this game is that you can enjoy it even while seated.
Object Passing Game
This is a party game that gets more exciting with more people: the “Object Passing Game.” Form pairs and have each pair hold both ends of a towel.
Place a ball (or similar object) on the towel and carefully transfer it onto the next person’s towel.
Keep repeating this to carry the ball all the way to the goal.
You must not drop the ball or use your hands.
Try to pass it quickly without dropping it.
Switching to a smaller or lighter object makes the game a bit more challenging.
If there are many players, dividing into teams and racing for speed can make it even more fun.