[For Seniors] Liven Up Your Day Service! Fun Beanbag Toss Activity
One of the items often used in day-service recreation is the beanbag (otedama).
Beanbags filled with adzuki beans or rice are soft balls that don’t hurt even if they hit you, making them a safe tool for everyone from children to older adults.
While many people picture juggling with two or three beanbags, it can be hard to come up with other ways to play.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of recommended beanbag games for day-service recreation!
Many of them are easy to play while seated, so older adults can enjoy them with confidence.
Give some new beanbag games a try!
- [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] From Games to Crafts: A Complete Guide to Paper Cup Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Exciting! Ball-Based Recreation
- Games using beanbags (otedama)
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- Enjoyable at day care! Tabletop games and recreation
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games
- [Elderly Day Service] Let’s all have fun! Games and recreational activities
- [For Seniors] Exciting! A Collection of Game Ideas Using Uchiwa (Japanese Hand Fans)
[For Seniors] Let’s Have Fun at Day Service! Enjoyable Beanbag Toss Activities (21–30)
Ankle and lower-limb strength training using beanbags
It’s a waste to only play with your hands! Here are ideas for ankle and lower-limb strength training using beanbags (otedama).
Otedama is one of those items that has long been loved in Japan.
Many of you may have learned various tricks by tossing and catching them with your hands.
This time, let’s try training with otedama.
What you’ll need are beanbags, paper cups, a bucket, and so on.
To start, it’s best to get used to it gradually by placing a beanbag on the top of your foot and moving your thigh up and down, or opening and closing your hip joints.
Beanbag Balance Game
We’re pleased to introduce “Beanbag Balance Challenge,” a balance-and-focus game for older adults that you can enjoy using everyday materials found at home.
Use packing tape and toilet paper rolls as pillars, and stack cardboard pieces of different sizes by level to build a tower.
The higher the level, the smaller the surface area—and the higher the points.
Participants remain seated and gently toss beanbags, competing to see which level they can land on.
You can freely adjust the difficulty simply by changing the number of beanbags or the throwing distance.
The thrill of aiming and landing a toss, mixed with the suspense of a potential collapse, makes for a recreation activity guaranteed to spark smiles and laughter.
Beanbag Boccia
Have you heard of boccia, which is also an official Paralympic sport? Originating in Europe and designed so people with disabilities can enjoy it, let’s try playing boccia using beanbags.
Place a larger target ball on the floor, and throw your beanbags toward it.
The three beanbags closest to the target ball score points.
Teams take turns throwing to get closer to the target ball, and you can also hit the opponent’s beanbags to knock them farther away.
If the target ball moves, beanbags that were close may suddenly be out of scoring range—making the back-and-forth strategy thrilling and suspenseful.
Stacking beanbags
This is a game where you toss beanbags and try to land them on a target without dropping them.
Because it uses light items like beanbags, people with hemiplegia can also participate.
Have older adults sit in chairs some distance away from the target.
Aim for the target and throw the beanbags.
You can use an empty bucket or a trash can turned upside down as the target.
Each person throws three beanbags, and the one who lands the most beanbags on the target wins.
The rules are simple, but it should be exciting.
As everyone gets used to the game, try making the target smaller.
It increases the difficulty, but it’s still fun.
Juggling and catching beanbags with your feet
Balancing is tricky! Here’s an idea for tossing and catching beanbags with your feet.
It’s a unique and fun activity that works not only for events and recreation but also as part of daily activities.
All you need to prepare are beanbags.
Sit facing each other and place a beanbag on the top of your foot.
On the cue “Ready, go!” lift your legs up sharply and pass the beanbag with your feet to the person sitting across from you.
The other person’s goal is to catch the beanbag as it comes flying toward them.
ball toss (traditional Japanese beanbag/ball-throwing game)
Tamaire, a ball-tossing game often seen at school sports days, might be familiar to many older adults who took part in such events in the past.
Here’s an introduction to tamaire, a perfect indoor activity to get the body moving.
Because it’s a familiar game, it can help seniors refresh their mood and relieve stress.
Have participants sit in chairs and place a basket in the center.
Prepare balls in colors like red and white, and have the seniors toss them into the basket.
The person who gets the most balls in the basket wins.
Throwing with the arms and shoulders also provides a good upper-body workout.
Number Exercise
Here’s a fun number exercise where you get to learn movements, too.
For 1, touch your head with both hands.
For 2, cross your hands in front of your chest.
For 3, clap your hands and move your body.
The moves and rules are simple, but since you have to think, you might get a little confused at first.
Until you get used to it, say the numbers clearly and keep a slow rhythm.
Once it becomes familiar, try adding combinations where you call out two numbers, or speed up the rhythm for a challenge.
Let’s make it something you can enjoy while you practice.
