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[For Seniors] Recreations to Experience in August
At day service centers and other senior facilities, staff are always thinking up recreational activities that elderly participants will enjoy.
We recommend seasonal activities that help stimulate both mind and body.
In this article, we’ll introduce recreational ideas that are perfect for August!
Speaking of August, Japan is full of unique seasonal events like festivals and Obon!
We’ve gathered many activities inspired by the classic sights and sounds of summer.
There are also refreshing ideas you can only experience during the summer, so please use them as a reference.
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities to Experience in August (1–10)
Festival Outing ActivityNEW!
Speaking of summer, it’s all about festivals! Many of us spent wonderful times there with our parents as children.
Stalls selling yakisoba and shaved ice, goldfish scooping, and shooting games still line the streets just like the old days.
If you visit a festival as an outing, older adults will surely feel a childlike excitement bubbling up.
The lively atmosphere unique to festivals will likely bring out more smiles.
Let’s all create new festival memories together while wrapped in that nostalgic ambiance.
BBQ partyNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@lavitauno/video/7524534106428919048Some of you may have fond memories of going to the river in the summer when you were young and enjoying BBQs.
With this idea, let’s relive those nostalgic days by cooking and having a BBQ together.
You can chop vegetables with a knife, grill meat, and make yakisoba or toasted marshmallows.
Just dining outdoors on a nice day can be refreshing, so please enjoy it within a comfortable range.
Let’s create new, unforgettable BBQ memories!
Balloon fireworksNEW!
It’s a game where colorful balloons gently float up, giving you the festive feel of fireworks.
Create an enclosure with newspapers or similar materials, then fill it with plenty of inflated balloons to prepare.
You can adjust the quantity and size to suit the participants, so no worries.
When you toss in a vinyl ball, the balloons spread out all at once, prompting spontaneous cheers.
The sense of achievement when you make them fly high, and the smiles it brings to onlookers, are part of the charm.
It’s lively, heart-lifting fun—perfect for summer.
Target shooting gameNEW!
Here’s a simple and fun target-throwing game.
Prepare by sticking adhesive-backed hook-and-loop (Velcro) strips radially onto ping-pong balls.
For the target, attach felt circles of various sizes to construction paper, write point values around them, and make the center worth 100 points to finish.
The balls stick firmly with just a light toss, so it’s safe and enjoyable.
Hitting right where you aim feels refreshing, and high scores naturally spark applause and cheers.
You can encourage each other and try again and again, making for a joyful, smile-filled time.
It’s easy to set up and guaranteed to liven things up, so give it a try!
Underwater Coin Drop Game
A perfect, refreshing summer game using water: the Underwater Coin Drop.
You drop coins toward cups or other containers placed inside a water-filled tank.
We recommend using 1-yen coins! It might seem easy, but underwater the coins drift with the water and don’t always fall where you expect—so it’s surprisingly tricky.
Write point values on the cups to make it a scoring game for extra fun! Using a larger tank or switching the containers to shallow saucers will increase the difficulty.
Seaside Swimming Game
Let’s enjoy a seaside game! You’ll need a bed sheet, a washbasin, and a stuffed toy that fits inside the basin.
Sit in a circle facing each other and hold the edges of the sheet.
Pretend the sheet is the sea, place the washbasin as a boat on top with the stuffed toy, and gently shake the sheet like waves.
If you can skillfully get the stuffed toy into the washbasin, you succeed.
Try it as a time trial and see which team can succeed first!
Festival stall games
Speaking of summer, how about hosting a festival-themed fair? That bustling atmosphere with lots of people and rows of food stalls is exciting no matter how old you are.
Set up booths like a shooting gallery, shaved ice stand, and cotton candy stand! The more stalls you have, the more ways there are to enjoy the fair.
If you do it indoors, it’s much easier to beat the heat.
Ring toss gets the body moving, and goldfish scooping stimulates fine motor skills.
With a bit of creativity, the possibilities are endless!
