[For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation
For those who use senior care facilities or day services, lively recreational activities are important, aren’t they?
In this article, we introduce activities that everyone can try together as well as ones individuals can enjoy on their own.
All of them are exciting and easy to try once you learn the simple rules.
Even games that might look difficult at first—like rock-paper-scissors relays or ball bowling—can be done while seated, so no worries.
We hope you’ll all give them a try so that recreation can help invigorate the minds and bodies of older adults.
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- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Exciting! Ball-Based Recreation
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Day Service: A Collection of Fun Event Ideas
- [For Seniors] Introducing Recreational Activities Anyone Can Enjoy at Geriatric Health Facilities!
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
[For Seniors] Easy to Try: Fun, Crowd-Pleasing Recreations (171–180)
Have fun catching the ball with your body
A recommended recreation activity for seniors using a rubber ball.
Rubber balls don’t slip easily, so they’re easier to catch.
This time, work in pairs and toss the ball back and forth, catching it by clamping it between your hands.
It seems like it will train your reaction speed more than catching with your palms.
Switching to one-handed catches or knee catches also adds excitement, so they’re recommended.
Receiving the ball in various ways can help stimulate both mind and body.
A key point is not to overinflate the ball so it’s easier to grip.
Borrowed Item Race
Let’s take on the challenge with excitement! Here are some ideas for a “borrowing race.” Many of you may already know this as one of the most exciting events at a sports day.
This time, let’s try a thrilling borrowing race.
Set a table 10 meters from the starting line.
Place various items on the table along with lots that have the item names written on them, and you’re all set! Participants move from the starting line to the table, draw a lot, and search for the corresponding item.
Once they have the item in hand, they return to the starting line to finish!
Put newspaper balls into the umbrella
June in Japan is the rainy season, and many people associate it with umbrellas.
So here’s a game that lets you feel the season: a newspaper-ball toss.
Place an open umbrella on a chair, then throw in balls made by crumpling up newspaper.
Because umbrellas are light and flexible, the balls you toss in will bounce—this unpredictable movement is part of the fun.
Enjoy the surprising action, and you can also compete to see how many balls you can get in within a set time.
Get in a circle and amp it up! Ball game
A recreation activity where everyone sits on chairs, forms a circle, and tosses a ball to each other.
Since you never know who will get the ball next, it’s a thrilling, heart-pounding game.
Forming a circle also helps deepen interaction among participants, which is a big plus.
And because a rubber ball is used, it’s safe as well.
As for how to throw, you can pass it with a one-bounce method, which builds strength by bouncing the ball off the ground.
It’s also exciting to fake a throw to add a bit of feinting and liven things up.
Disposable Chopstick Picking Game
It’s a game where you twist a bundle of disposable chopsticks into a standing tower and then pull out one chopstick at a time; whoever topples the tower loses.
You’re tested on fine motor skills, like judging which chopsticks affect the balance and how to pull them out so the force doesn’t transfer through the structure.
The careful yet quick pulling motion is also crucial for maintaining balance, so keep your focus and sense of speed sharp.
It’s also interesting that as the number of remaining sticks decreases, the ability to judge the overall balance becomes even more important.
[For Seniors] Easy to Try: Fun, Crowd-Pleasing Recreational Activities (181–190)
Animal sound brain training
It’s a game where you read the written name of an animal, think about which sound that animal makes, and answer.
It tests your ability to connect memories—how quickly you can imagine the sound from the animal’s name.
Start by checking which animal makes which sound, then move on to the letter chart.
Because you can reach the answer by thinking carefully, it’s also important to be mindful of speed.
The process of thinking from the written word and then saying it aloud helps activate the brain.
Word Bingo!
Let’s enjoy a wordplay-based bingo game called Word Bingo! The bingo card has 9 squares, and you fill them with words that match a given theme.
For example, if the theme is “words that start with ‘ka,’” you fill the squares with words that begin with ‘ka’ that you can think of.
When the representative announces their nine ‘ka’ words, check whether any of them match the words on your card; if they do, mark them.
You win when you complete a line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
A great thing about this bingo is that it’s fun for large groups.
