[For Seniors] Recreations to Experience in August

Target shooting

Smile Shooting Gallery

When it comes to summer fun, nothing beats the festival night stalls.

They’re enjoyable not just for kids, but for adults too.

How about setting up a target-shooting game that’s full of that festival mood? You can use anything as a target, but to give it that nostalgic fair vibe, prepare items with classic designs like Hyottoko, Daruma, or Maneki-neko.

For the gun, instead of one that shoots pellets, a simple rubber band shooter—like a chopstick gun—is recommended.

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utatane

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Wordplay with summer vegetables

[Origami Activity] Color Activity Using a Whiteboard · Summer Vegetable Wordplay Activity – Recreational Activities for Older Adults

There are lots of vegetables that are in season during summer, like cucumbers, corn, and pumpkins! Let’s try a word game using the names of these summer vegetables.

Take a vegetable’s name, break it into parts, and make other short words of about 2–3 characters.

For example, with “きゅうり (kyuuri),” you can split it into “き・ゅ・う・り” and make words like “うり (uri)” or “きり (kiri).” It’s best to choose vegetables with longer names! Thinking about what words you can create serves as brain training for older adults, so please give it a try.

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SAKI

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Diorama

[Senior Recreation] You can easily make a mock diorama using empty boxes. Summer flowers: sunflower, morning glory, and lotus illustrations.

The word “diorama” is often heard in the world of plastic models.

If you’re a man, you might have built diorama models of Mobile Suit Gundam or Space Battleship Yamato when you were younger.

The history of dioramas is actually quite recent—the first use is said to have been in 1915 as a display device at the Baroque Museum in the UK.

Here, we’ll introduce an easy-to-make shoebox diorama.

Cool, refreshing themes like the ocean are recommended.

For example, for an undersea scene, paste a photo of the sea on the bottom inside of the box.

It’s fine to use real rocks or sand for the stones and sand scattered on the bottom.

You can make submarines and fish out of paper clay or use store-bought miniatures—the ideas are limitless.

Create it with the mindset of recreating a real landscape.

For women, making a diorama of a palace or a grand garden could also be lovely.

Treasure Hunt with Water Beads

[Senior Recreation] Rec-Craftsman Series Part 77: 'Treasure Hunt with Water Beads'

A treasure-hunt game using water beads that was popular among YouTubers! Water beads start out as tiny pellets, but after soaking in water for several hours, they become soft and about the size of marbles.

In this game, you mix marbles into the softened water beads, and participants have to find all the marbles by feel.

It’s a visually refreshing activity that’s perfect for summer!

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sasashina

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Goldfish hanging ornaments

Origami hanging decoration “Goldfish Swaying in the Wind” = Goldfish swaying in the wind. The gently swaying goldfish look lovely and refreshing.

How about a hanging goldfish decoration that gently sways in the breeze? Goldfish have long been loved as a symbol of summer, right? They’re familiar to many older adults as well, so this craft is great for a summer activity at day service centers.

The method is to roll a strip of construction paper into a ring and attach origami goldfish with thread.

If you’re decorating a wall, you can simply fix it in place with tape.

For windowsills or entryways, try securing several wind chimes to a bamboo skewer—when the wind blows, it looks beautiful.

Give it a try!

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miyabi

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astronomical observation

Let’s try photographing the Moon with a telescope and a smartphone!

From August 1st to 7th, the rainy season ends nationwide and the weather is stable, so there’s an event called “Star Week” that encourages people to enjoy the night sky.

How about trying some stargazing? The view may vary a bit depending on where you live, but these days telescopes are affordable and come in many varieties.

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utatane

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Goldfish scooping

Goldfish Scooping School: Tips for Goldfish Scooping from the Head Instructor (Horizontal Version)

The sight of red fish gliding smoothly through the water brings a feeling of summer.

Try incorporating a goldfish scooping game into recreational activities at care facilities.

You might think handling live animals makes preparation difficult, but depending on the region, there are companies that rent out goldfish, large plastic tubs, paper scoops (poi), and more as a set.

If your budget allows, taking advantage of such services is one option.

Of course, you can prepare everything yourself, and if keeping the goldfish afterward would be difficult, you can adapt the activity into a super ball scooping game instead.

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Araki Jakkan

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