For seniors: Recommended for day services. Hands-on activities that help prevent dementia.
As we age, our muscle strength declines, making fine, hands-on tasks more difficult.
Because the nerves in our hands are connected to the brain, it’s said that moving our hands can help prevent dementia.
In this article, we introduce hands-on recreational activities for day service programs that train both the fingers and the brain.
With a focus on craft-based activities and finger-use games, they also help improve concentration.
Craft activities let participants enjoy the fun of creating, too.
There are many ideas to choose from, so try starting with the hands-on activities you’re most interested in.
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[For Seniors] Recommended for Day Services: Hands-on Activities for Dementia Prevention (71–80)
Brain-training goods from the 100-yen shop!
This is a rehabilitation tool that uses a whiteboard and colored magnets, which you can easily get even at 100-yen shops.
Draw lines on the whiteboard and then place magnets at the intersections—simple, right? By removing magnets that are stuck on and arranging them neatly while paying attention to color, you train the ability to judge colors and order as well as fine finger movements.
Try customizing it depending on what you want to strengthen: for example, increase the number of magnets to make the arranging take more time, or use stronger magnets to require more force to remove them.
Dollar store brain-training puzzle
This is a simple puzzle game made by combining wooden sticks and colored stickers.
Place two sticks side by side, lay several stickers across both sticks, and cut each sticker down the middle with a craft knife.
Make several of these stick pairs to complete the puzzle set.
Players then enjoy the game by finding the two sticks whose half-circle sticker halves match perfectly.
You can adjust the difficulty by increasing the number of sticks or the number of stickers applied to each stick, so it’s also recommended to prepare a variety of patterns.
Stylish ribbon tray
A stylish and cute ribbon tray is perfect for keeping track of tiny items that are easy to lose.
This ribbon tray is made using the bottom of a milk carton.
Decide the height, cut off everything except the bottom section, and snip the corners as well.
Then simply cover it with fabric, but since the corners will be tied with ribbons, attach ribbons to the milk carton at the corners.
The key is to glue over them once more from the top so they won’t come loose.
The bottom is softly padded with quilt batting.
[For Seniors] Recommended for day service. Handicraft activities that help prevent dementia (81–90)
scrunchie
Scrunchies for tying up hair are one of the easiest projects to make! One of their charms is that there are many ways to create them—such as crochet patterns or sewing a long, tube-shaped piece of fabric and threading elastic through it.
Making them with crochet, knitting, or hand sewing also stimulates your fingertips, making them perfect for hand rehabilitation.
They’re great as gifts for family, too.
And scrunchies aren’t just hair accessories; they can also be used as bag decorations or bands for planners, so you can make as many as you like with no problem! Give it a try.
Sweets Deco
Let’s try making ornaments themed around sweets using paper clay and glue.
The key is the paper-clay “whipped cream.” By using a piping bag, you can create a realistic whipped finish.
Once you’ve piped the cream all over, just add colors and other touches to complete it.
How delicious you can make it look is where your sense of style really shows.
In addition to displaying it as an ornament, it’s also recommended to add a memo-stand component to make it practical.
smartphone shoulder strap
How about making a cute little pouch using crochet hooks and yarn you can buy at the 100-yen shop? It works great as a smartphone shoulder bag and can also be used as a card case.
Since you’ll be working single-strand with chain stitches, experienced crafters can probably move along quickly.
Even if you’re not experienced, you’ll be fine if you take it carefully together.
Don’t push yourself—try it with someone who enjoys delicate handiwork.
Boosting motivation with ideas like “It could be a gift for your grandchild or child” can make it even more fun.
Cardboard knitting
We will knit using corrugated cardboard with slits cut into it.
The surprising part is that you can knit with everyday materials, and the simplicity of the steps is a key highlight.
It’s a straightforward process: wind yarn around the cardboard by inserting it into the slits, then thread yarn of different colors alternately through it.
If you keep the final tightening in mind, you’ll end up with a sturdy piece of knitting.
By following the steps and making fine finger movements, you can turn this into finger dexterity practice and brain training.
Focusing on the task also helps you spend your time meaningfully.