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[For Seniors] Fun Even Without Sight! Recreation Ideas
Among staff working at day service centers and senior care facilities, some may be wondering: What kinds of recreational activities can people with visual impairments or low vision enjoy? You might be struggling to come up with ideas.
We want people who are blind or have low vision to be able to enjoy recreation together with other seniors around them, right? In this article, we introduce recommended ideas for just that.
There are many recreational activities that skillfully incorporate senses other than sight, such as hearing, touch, and smell.
Please use these as a reference and share a fun time with everyone.
[For Older Adults] Fun Even Without Sight! Recreation Ideas (1–10)
Rhythm rec
I believe it’s important for older adults to add variety and structure to their everyday routines.
This is especially true for those with low vision, who often rely more on sound; that’s why I recommend rhythm-based recreation.
It’s not only very easy to do, but it also helps activate the mind and body.
Don’t you feel excited when you move your body to music and rhythm? Just as listening to music can lift your spirits when you’re feeling down, music has a mysterious power within it.
Let’s all enjoy moving our bodies together with rhythm recreation!
Body Clock Game
Is your internal clock accurate? Here’s a game idea.
It’s a game where you compare 30 seconds measured by a stopwatch with 30 seconds measured by your internal clock.
Here’s how to play: measure 30 seconds with a stopwatch, and participants count to 30 seconds while blindfolded.
When each person thinks 30 seconds have passed, they raise their hand, and you compare it with the stopwatch time.
Does the person closest to 30 seconds win? If you’re playing alone, you can challenge yourself to become more accurate.
There are many possible rule variations, so try finding the ones that get everyone excited!
Looking for a ping-pong ball
Here’s a recreation idea that uses the sense of touch! Cut hand-sized holes in a cardboard box and put ping-pong balls and shredded newspaper inside.
The game is to find and pull out the ping-pong balls from inside the box.
You can set a time limit or have a few people compete for speed—there are lots of ways to make it fun with different rules! For older adults, it not only exercises the hands and fingers but may also help train sensory perception.
Enjoy challenging yourself to use senses you don’t normally rely on!
Four Senses
Are you familiar with the board game Four Senses? In Four Senses, you wear the included eye mask and play by feeling your way around the board.
The detailed rules involve aligning a row—vertically, horizontally, or diagonally—by matching whether there are holes and the height of the pieces.
Because the game is played without sight, it seems like people with visual impairments can enjoy it together as well.
It can be played with 2 to 3 players.
If it seems a bit difficult, please have staff provide support to accommodate older adults.
Hand Silhouette Quiz
Here’s an idea for a hand-based silhouette quiz! Participants are blindfolded and handed various items.
The game is to guess what the items represent based on touch alone—for example, a toy umbrella or a toy dinosaur.
Some items have very distinctive features while others have fewer, so adjust the difficulty as you go.
Since you can only rely on your sense of touch, it really tests your concentration.
Using senses you don’t usually depend on is great for your brain, too.
It sounds like a fun way to refresh your mood while having a good time.
Be sure to try it with a variety of items!
Flag-raising game
The flag-raising game is one where you raise or lower flags to cues like “Raise red” or “Lower white.” With a few adjustments, people with visual impairments can enjoy it too.
The key is to avoid using flag colors in the cues.
Using instructions like “Raise your right hand,” “Lower your left hand,” or “Raise both hands” makes it run smoothly.
With these cues, participants with visual impairments can join the flag-raising game together.
Once everyone gets used to the game, gradually increase the tempo of the cues.
You can also raise the difficulty—for example, have staff add hand claps, and incorporate marching in place.
Showa-era Kayōkyoku Quiz
It’s a quiz where you listen to a song and guess the singer! Many older adults are probably very familiar with Showa-era pop songs.
I think the real charm of this quiz is that exhilarating moment when a flash of inspiration breaks through that fuzzy feeling of not quite remembering.
You could make it a fastest-finger quiz or have everyone answer at the same time—there are lots of ways to make it exciting.
In care facilities or day services, it might be great for staff to actually sing, too.
Enjoy a wonderful time while appreciating those nostalgic old pop songs.