[For Seniors] Popular Hand-Play Songs: Fun Brain-Training Ideas
To increase opportunities for physical activity and social interaction, many older adults visit facilities such as day-service centers.
However, there may be many who find it difficult to start conversations on their own and end up sitting by themselves.
In this article, we introduce simple hand-play songs that can be done while seated! If it’s a tune they’ve heard before, they can join in with enjoyment, which can also help spark interaction with other participants.
In addition, raising the arms and moving the fingers serves as brain training and is important for preventing cognitive decline.
Please try these as fun recreational activities!
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[For Seniors] Popular finger-play songs: Introducing ideas for fun brain training (31–40)
tea picking
When early summer approaches, isn’t the song you find yourself humming “Chatsumi” (Tea Picking)? It was published in 1912 in the Elementary School Songs for the Third Grade.
In 2007, it was also selected as one of the 100 Best Japanese Songs.
Listening to the tune brings to mind the beautiful season of fresh greenery and women diligently picking tea leaves.
Many older people may also remember playing along to it as a hand-clapping song when they were young.
This time, you’ll need to perform three actions while singing: clapping your hands and stamping your feet.
Let’s enjoy it with a childlike sense of fun.
A-I-U-Be mouth exercise staring game
It’s an exercise that adds “staring contest” to the “A-I-U-BE mouth exercise,” so it includes lots of laughter.
It can of course be enjoyed at care facilities, and it also seems perfect to try at home with your grandchildren.
Some older adults may have limited interaction with others.
With a staring-contest version of the A-I-U-BE exercise, you can foster interaction and smiles through the activity.
It’s easy to do as a game for recreation, so it’s highly recommended.
Let’s enjoy doing mouth exercises while having fun.
Goo Choki Paa-ty (Rock-Paper-Scissors Party)
Shall we all try dancing the “Goo-Choki-Paa” exercise together—just watching it might lift your spirits! This routine is done standing, but it can also be done seated, so it can be adapted to the physical and mental condition of older adults.
Various animals and creatures appear throughout, and their movements are expressed with the hands and feet.
For example, a fist (goo) can represent a gorilla, and scissors (choki) can represent a crab—there are so many ways to communicate using just your hands.
Don’t forget to take a deep breath at the end to refresh your body and mind.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Exercise
This Gu-Choki-Pa exercise is a workout you do while vocalizing.
Speaking out provides good stimulation for the brain, so it’s recommended.
Even a small voice is fine—the key is to add the Gu-Choki-Pa hand motions as you do it.
Exercises that change the movement on each side are also effective for activating the brain.
These can be easy to get wrong, so it may be hard to do them correctly right away.
However, making mistakes is important too, and it can be a good opportunity to communicate with those around you.
Staff should actively call out to participants while leading the exercises.
Rock, paper, scissors with pumpkin
Goo-Choki-Pa Pumpkin is a recommended exercise for Halloween.
Dressing up in Halloween costumes while you dance will lift your spirits and make it even more fun.
Since the Goo-Choki-Pa movements are incorporated into various parts, it should help activate the brain.
You can do it standing or sitting, so please adjust it to your physical and mental condition.
The song used here is an upbeat track that I believe will also benefit the minds and bodies of older adults.
Let’s enjoy the Goo-Choki-Pa exercise along with the up-tempo music.
[For Seniors] Popular hand-play songs: Fun brain-training ideas (41–50)
Let’s make Pokémon with rock-paper-scissors
Pokémon are popular characters among children, aren’t they? Some older adults might also like Pokémon because of their grandchildren’s influence.
It seems there are as many as 809 Pokémon characters.
Let’s make those characters while singing the “Rock-Paper-Scissors, What Shall We Make?” song.
It might be a bit difficult to express popular Pokémon characters using only your hands, but let’s try to do it well.
Each Pokémon has its own unique features, so explaining those traits would likely make things more exciting too.
Guu-Choki-Paa Exercise
“Guu-Choki-Paa Exercise” is a workout that involves doing “rock-paper-scissors” hand shapes while exercising the body.
Since it moves not just the fingers but the whole body, it seems likely to have positive effects on both physical and mental health.
It can be done seated, which is appealing because it can be adjusted to suit the physical and mental condition of older adults.
Let’s start by moving the upper body while doing Guu-Choki-Paa with the hands.
Tilting the head upward engages the neck, which is also good exercise.
Next, use your feet to do Guu-Choki-Paa.
That will help loosen the muscles in the feet and hip joints, making it a very beneficial exercise.