[For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
We’ve put together a collection of games and recreational activities that can be enjoyed at day care.
We introduce plenty of options, including simple games you can play while seated, brain-training games, and activities that help with hand and finger rehabilitation—so please use them as a reference.
Some activities require props, but they’re simple to make using recycled materials or items from 100-yen shops, making them easy for older adults to recreate.
Give them a try with everyone during recreation time or in small breaks.
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [Elderly Day Service] Let’s all have fun! Games and recreational activities
- [For Seniors] Fun! Games and Ideas to Boost Memory
- [For Seniors] Have Fun! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
[For Seniors] Enjoying Daycare: A Collection of Games and Recreational Activities (161–170)
Shoot with the ball
This is a game where you kick a ball so it reaches the person sitting across from you, helping you build leg strength.
But it’s not just about kicking hard—you also have to send the ball through a hoop set up in the middle, so your directional control is tested too.
Not only how far you extend your leg, but also which part of your foot you use to kick will change the force applied to the ball and how easy it is to handle.
The farther apart you sit and the more hoops you add, the harder the control becomes, so start simple and gradually increase the difficulty.
Brain-training recreation with a ball
It’s a game where everyone sits on chairs to form a circle and passes balls to the next person.
The balls differ in color and shape, and only the specified ball is passed along.
The tricky parts are judging whether you’re holding the specified ball and being able to stop the previously specified ball.
The speed at which the balls are passed is also important—when it increases, people feel rushed, and the brain-training element of identifying the balls becomes even stronger.
[For Seniors] Enjoying Daycare: A Collection of Games and Recreational Activities (171–180)
Recreation that stimulates cognitive function using a ball
Recreation using balls is recommended for dementia prevention because it activates both mental and physical functions.
This time, we’re focusing on ball-based recreation that is particularly effective for dementia.
Participants sit in a circle and pass the ball to the person next to them, changing directions—clockwise or counterclockwise—and adjusting according to the ball’s size.
By doing this, older adults have to think as they play, which helps strengthen both mind and body.
Additionally, switching to the opposite direction provides beneficial stimulation to the brain.
Ball Wrapping Game
Let me introduce a “ball winding” game where you use your wrists and fingertips to reel the ball in faster than your opponent.
Tie a piece of tape to a basket and stretch it out; wrap the other end of the tape around a stick.
Once you place a ball on top of the basket, you’re ready to go.
At the starting signal, use your hands to twist the stick and pull the basket toward you.
If the ball falls off, you incur a penalty and can’t move, so be careful not to drop it while trying to pull the basket in faster than your opponent.
Because it uses both hands, it can also be used as a fun functional training activity.
Roll the ball game
The Roll-the-Ball Game is a simple, tabletop recreation you can enjoy easily.
You place a frame on the desk, put a ball inside it, and pull the ball using a string.
It’s played one-on-one, and because you can do it while seated, it’s easy on the body.
As you pull the ball, you wind the string around and around, which can help develop fine motor skills.
It’s also a bit thrilling, since you’re disqualified if the ball leaves the frame.
The key is to pull the ball without letting it slip out of the frame.
Thinking about how to pull the ball effectively can also help improve both mental and physical functions.
ball catcher
This is a game where you use a stick with a paper cup attached to the tip to collect balls lined up on a table.
There are also walls on the left and right sides of the table, so make good use of them to smoothly collect the balls.
A face-to-face match across the table is recommended, and trying to collect more balls than your opponent within a time limit tends to increase the speed of movement.
The longer the stick, the harder it is to handle, so once players get used to it, it’s also recommended to add variations such as changing the distance.
ball rec
Recreational activities that use soft, lightweight balls are recommended for older adults.
Throwing and catching the ball engages various physical and sensory abilities such as muscle strength, grip strength, and dynamic visual acuity.
Simply touching a ball that can roll or be squeezed is also enjoyable for its tactile feel.
This is said to have beneficial effects on the brain as well.
There are ball-based activities that can be done while seated in a chair, making them accessible to many seniors.
Have the participants sit in a circle and pass the ball forward and backward.
If someone can stand steadily, have them walk to the side and hand the ball to the person next to them.
This helps improve core balance.
