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!
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
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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 Daycare (41–50)
Tap on the shoulder! A hand game that works even with a large group
It’s a simple activity where everyone sits in a large circle and gently taps the shoulder of the person next to them in time with the music.
Encourage participants to switch between the right and left sides quickly on cue.
If they rush the switch, their taps can become too strong, so it’s best to start with an easy-to-follow rhythm and gradually increase the tempo.
Because the movement is simple, have them focus on the song as well and direct their attention to performing both actions at the same time.
Once you judge that they’re getting used to it, you can make the switch timing more varied to raise the difficulty.
Recreation Activities for Use in Day Service (51–60)
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.
Balloon basket
This activity has participants gently hit a balloon and try to land it in the basket in front of them.
Encourage them to pay close attention to the direction they hit the balloon and how much force they use.
In addition to aiming to get it into the basket in a single hit, it’s also recommended to add a variation where they bounce it upward a few times before aiming for the basket to develop their sense of balance.
By thinking about the direction to bounce the balloon and moving to retrieve it, they can train not only their bodies but also their reflexes and decision-making skills.
It would also be exciting to turn it into a cooperative game where everyone stands in a large circle and targets a basket placed in the center.
Balloon Ring Relay
Balloons that move a lot with just a small amount of force can behave unpredictably even when you’re just carrying them sideways.
This game uses that awkwardness in a relay-style challenge where balloons are passed along in order.
Prepare ring-shaped balloons, and give each person a stick made from newspaper or a sponge.
At the starting signal, players use the sticks to pass the balloon to the next person, aiming to get all the balloons to the goal.
You can increase the difficulty—and the excitement once everyone gets used to it—by making the balloon rings smaller and the sticks longer.
Balloon Baseball Game
It’s a game where you swing a stick vigorously to send a balloon flying as far as possible.
What you aim the balloon at also matters—there are various rule sets, such as aiming for a target or trying to clear obstacles.
It’s a game that can train many parts of the body in the instant of the swing: grip strength on the stick, awareness of transferring power to the balloon, and twisting movements of the body.
To make the balloon fly in the intended direction, it’s important to keep your eyes on it, so it can also help improve concentration.
Mouth exercises — Tea Picking
It’s a light exercise-like game where you move along to the tea-picking song while saying the words “green tea, matcha, barley tea, Oi Ocha.” At first you just say the words out loud, and then it becomes more fun as you add actions like clapping and stomping.
It’s a rhythm activity you can enjoy seated—even if your arms or legs are a bit limited—and it also provides a bit of exercise.
Find Hyokkori-han!
This is a “Find Hyokkori-han” game featuring the familiar catchphrase, “Hai, Hyokkori-han!” As the usual lively theme song plays and you hear “Hai, Hyokkori-han!”, lots of faces pop out from various places.
But among them, there’s only one real Hyokkori-han.
Your goal is to find that Hyokkori-han.
The difficulty changes depending on Hyokkori-han’s size and the scenery.