[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 (241–250)
Great for brain training! Recommended for recreation too: hand and foot exercises
This is a recreation activity where everyone forms a large circle and passes a ball around inside the circle.
The person throwing the ball can strengthen their shoulder and arm joints, while the person catching it can train their focus and dynamic visual acuity.
If you make it more challenging by adding variations—like incorporating footwork when throwing—you can also gain brain-training benefits from planning movements.
Playing music and having participants pass the ball in time with it can make it easier to find a rhythm.
There are various tips, such as keeping the shoulders and arms moving smoothly and getting a feel for the rhythm, so offer advice as you go and let everyone enjoy passing the ball.
Color Matching Game
Here’s a great idea for puzzle lovers: a color-matching game.
First, prepare the same number of toilet paper rolls and paper cups.
Turn the paper cups upside down and stick colored paper on the bottoms.
Then stick the same colored paper on the toilet paper rolls.
Repeat this for each color to finish the setup.
To play, find the toilet paper roll that matches the color of a paper cup and stack it on top.
The more colors you add, the more challenging it becomes.
Dropping Colored Balls
We would like to introduce a color ball drop activity for pairs.
Have two older adults sit facing each other, each holding two sticks by their tips.
Place baskets labeled with colors between them.
Roll balls along the sticks and drop each ball into the basket with the matching color label.
This game emphasizes cooperation between the two participants.
Encourage them to communicate and synchronize their movements.
It’s a fun activity that can spark conversation and help expand social connections.
Tea Picking Game
Tea picking, famous for the phrase “Hachijūhachi-ya, when summer draws near.” This time, we’re introducing a game inspired by Hachijūhachi-ya.
Prepare green and light green origami paper and roll each sheet into a cone shape.
It’s good to have a mix of sizes, large and small.
Set out two disposable containers so you can harvest green mature leaves and light green young leaves separately.
Place shredded newspaper dyed green inside a cardboard box.
Once you’ve tucked the origami into the box, you’re all set.
At the signal, harvest while sorting between leaves and young leaves.
There are many variations: race for speed, compete for how many you can harvest within a time limit, or use tweezers.
It can help train fine motor skills and improve comprehension and decision-making.
Give it a try!
Collecting Words
Introducing a word-gathering activity called “Kotoba Atsume Rec.” It’s most fun with about 4 to 6 people.
First is onomatopoeia—everyone names lots of sound-symbolic words like “gaku-gaku,” “peta-peta,” “waku-waku,” and so on.
It gets livelier if you go around in order and say them to a rhythm, like in the Yamanote Line Game.
Next is the “three-letter word with a circle (a specified character) in the middle” game.
For example, words with “na” in the middle—kanai, shinai, tonai—there seem to be infinite possibilities, but in practice you won’t think of that many.
In word-related games, the facilitator is key, so please use a whiteboard to keep things running smoothly!
[For Seniors] Enjoy Daycare: A Collection of Games and Recreational Activities (251–260)
Foot Beanbag Bingo
One activity option for events and parties is a bingo game.
Many older adults are already familiar with bingo, aren’t they? While bingo is usually played on paper, this time we’ll introduce a version that uses the feet and beanbags.
Prepare nine paper plates or cups, and have the older adults use their feet to toss beanbags into them.
Use colored tape to group the plates or cups by color, and change the score based on where the beanbag lands.
For example, award 20 points if the beanbag lands in a plate or cup of the same color, and 10 points if it’s a different color.
Because they lift their legs to toss the beanbags, older adults can enjoy the game while also training their legs.
Tug-of-war with a newspaper using your feet
Tug-of-war is one of the most exciting events at a sports day, isn’t it? It brings everyone together to cheer as a team and deepens communication.
This time’s “newspaper tug-of-war with your feet” can be done while seated, making it an easy activity for older adults of all abilities to join.
To keep it safe, be sure to sit firmly in a chair and hold onto the handrail while participating! The key to winning is to skillfully use your feet to pull the newspaper toward you.
Please enjoy it together with everyone.
Using your feet also helps strengthen your muscles and core, so it’s highly recommended.
