Recreation Activities for Use in Day Services
This article introduces recreation activities for day service centers.
There are plenty of activities where everyone can get their brains working, team up and compete, and share the thrill and excitement with all participants!
If you’re wondering, “What should we do today?” take a look.
These activities are actually used in care settings, so older adults can enjoy them with peace of mind.
Most of them are simple and require little preparation time.
Have fun and get lively together!
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- Games and recreational activities enjoyable in a wheelchair
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- Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
- Enjoyable at day care! Tabletop games and recreation
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [Evolving Daycare Services] A summary of engaging recreational initiatives that excite older adults
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
Recreation Activities for Use in Day Services (21–30)
Singing Brain-Training Exercise
This is an exercise routine that aims for fun and health by moving your body to songs, with autumn-themed music to help you feel the season.
We’ll start with warm-ups to loosen the whole body so it can move well later.
Moving your body while singing contributes to overall health, so easy-to-sing children’s songs are recommended; we’ll immerse ourselves in the world of the lyrics through movements that match them.
Rather than only following the suggested motions, it could also be interesting for each person to think about what kinds of movements they can come up with.
Parachute Game
Let me introduce a simple parachute game that’s easy to prepare.
Get some clothespins, a bag, and a target, and let’s have fun.
Clip a clothespin to the bottom of the bag to make a weight—your parachute is ready.
Throw the parachute toward the target.
The target has point values written on it, and you’ll add up your points.
The person with the highest score at the end wins.
It’s a parachute game everyone can enjoy together, so give it a try! It’s also a great way to spark conversation.
Milk carton kendama
Here’s a fun and safe kendama you can make from a milk carton.
Cut the milk carton to create the base of the kendama, hang a plastic string from it, and tie a beanbag to the end—that’s it! Using a beanbag on the end makes it safe even if it bumps into something.
In a kendama showdown, it might be fun to see how many seconds it takes each person to land a successful trick.
Once you get used to it, raise the difficulty by changing how you hold it and try landing the “reverse” kendama.
Decorating the milk carton to make it your own is also recommended.
Don’t drop it! Ball Drop Game
Here’s an idea for a ball drop game that’s thrilling and exciting.
You’ll need a wire net, a large number of colored balls, and some clothes-drying poles.
First, set up the wire net in a triangular shape and insert the poles across the middle area.
Once that’s done, place the balls on top, and you’re ready to play.
Then, take turns removing one pole at a time.
Be careful not to let the balls fall.
It could be fun to discuss together which pole might be safe to pull out before making your move.
Fan Beanbag Relay
Let me introduce a fan-and-beanbag relay that everyone can enjoy.
Have participants sit in chairs in a single row, and use handheld fans to pass along a beanbag.
Because it’s done while seated, even people who find it difficult to stand or move their bodies can likely take part.
Since both the fan and the beanbag are light, it doesn’t require much strength.
And with fans and beanbags, there’s less risk of injury if something is dropped.
Through the relay, people will call out to one another and work together as a team.
It might even spark new interactions.
You can also make it more exciting by forming two lines and holding a head-to-head relay competition.
10-second continuous Pa-Ta-Ka-La game
This is a variation where participants challenge themselves to see how quickly they can pronounce each character.
Because these characters require large mouth movements, focusing on speed still leads to solid oral motor training.
Have them try each character in order and pay attention to which ones are easier to pronounce—this is also recommended.
The 10-second time setting is a key point: ask them to decide whether to say it all in one breath or to take a breath in the middle.
If you carefully count and report the number of repetitions, it can motivate them to pronounce more, which may lead to even more physical activity.
karuta (traditional Japanese playing cards)
Karuta is a game where you listen to the reading cards and compete to grab the picture cards.
It’s recommended for people with dementia because it stimulates hearing and sight.
When playing with a large group, commercially available karuta sets may be a bit small, so it could be fun to make your own sets together, such as a “Popular Songs Karuta” or a “National Travel Karuta.” Karuta used to be a classic New Year’s pastime, and many older adults likely have one or two memories connected to it.
It would be wonderful to enjoy karuta along with those memories and the conversations they bring.