[For Seniors] Recommended! Seasonal Recreational Activities
The recreational activities offered at facilities have various benefits, including invigorating the mind, body, and brain, and improving quality of life.
Because they often involve interacting with others, they also naturally encourage communication.
By incorporating a sense of the seasons into recreation, older adults can lead even more fulfilling daily lives.
So this time, we’re introducing seasonal-themed recreational activities.
For older adults who may find it difficult to sense the passage of time, seasonal recreation can help them become more aware of time.
It also allows those who have trouble going out to feel the seasons, providing positive stimulation to break up the monotony of spending most days indoors.
We hope this helps make each day more enjoyable.
- [For Seniors] Fun Winter Activities: Recreation and Games
- [For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Recreations to Experience in August
- [For Seniors] Liven Up Cherry-Blossom Viewing! Fun Games and Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Fun! Games and Ideas to Boost Memory
- [Elderly Day Service] Let’s all have fun! Games and recreational activities
- Recommended recreational activities to help seniors enjoy their time in care facilities
- For Seniors: Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy in April
- Recommended fun performances that will appeal to elderly people
Spring Recreation (21–30)
Onigiri Kororin Game
How about trying the sure-to-be-exciting “Rolling Rice Ball Game”? Attach yarn to a paper plate and make rice balls and obstacles.
Place the rice balls you made on the paper plate and start the game! Reel in the yarn, and if you can bring the rice ball all the way to you without dropping it, you succeed.
There are obstacles made from plastic wrap or construction paper along the way, so be careful not to let it fall! The winner is decided both by speed and by how many rice balls you can transport without dropping them.
It’s a recreation activity that gets not only the older adults pulling the string excited, but also everyone watching around them.
Please feel free to use this as a reference!
Carnation wreath
Introducing a carnation wreath you can make with materials from a 100-yen shop.
Prepare flower paper, stack five sheets, and fold them in an accordion.
Open it once and cut it into quarters.
Staple the center of the flower paper and cut the edges into a zigzag.
After opening it once, cut a V-shape in the middle.
Wrap wire around the flower paper, then gently fluff the paper without tearing it to create a carnation blossom.
Make eight of these.
Prepare a wreath base and attach the carnations so they overlap.
Decorate with a ribbon to finish.
Because activities that use the fingertips are said to provide good stimulation for the brain, this is also recommended as a recreation activity in senior care facilities.
Spring Recreation (31–40)
Whac-A-Mole game
Even moles that usually live underground pop their heads out in spring.
When you think of spring, some people might even say “moles,” right? How about a game of Whac-A-Mole as a recreation activity to enjoy in March? It’s easy to make your own Whac-A-Mole using paper cups and disposable chopsticks.
Let’s draw moles on the paper cups.
If older adults each draw their favorite face, you’ll end up with a lot of unique, characterful moles! Make the hammer by fixing a disposable chopstick to a paper cup.
When the countdown starts, try whacking the moles with your hammer! It’s bound to turn into an exciting and fun showdown!
Koinobori Shooter
Introducing a carp streamer shooter made with a paper cup.
Cut out the bottom of the paper cup.
Cut a balloon slightly and stretch it over the bottom of the cup, then reinforce it with tape.
Tie the tip of the balloon on the opposite side of where you taped.
You can decorate the sides of the cup by attaching origami paper or stickers to the balloon tip area, or by drawing scale patterns.
Add eyes to finish.
Drop a ping-pong ball in from the drinking rim of the cup and pull the balloon.
The ping-pong ball will shoot out, so you can play games with it.
How about a game where you launch ping-pong balls from the carp streamer shooter into a basket or box? It’s a craft that older adults can enjoy even after making it.
Strawberry Quiz
When it comes to fruits that evoke spring, strawberries come to mind.
These days you can find them in supermarkets even in winter, but strawberries are originally in season in spring.
Because they’re sweet and often used in desserts, some older adults may be fond of them as well.
A quiz about strawberries—an iconic spring fruit that’s familiar to older adults—would likely get everyone excited.
Through the quiz, you’ll also have the chance to learn surprising facts about strawberries.
It can be a fun way for older adults to discover things they didn’t know about strawberries.
Enjoy a delightful time with a strawberry quiz!
Strawberry Picking Game
The bright red fruit, strawberries, are one of the foods that evoke the feeling of spring, and strawberry picking is also an event that brings a sense of the season.
This game is inspired by the scene of strawberry picking, where players compete to collect as many strawberry mascots as possible within a time limit.
A string is stretched out in front of you, and clothespins attached to it hold strawberry motifs.
You remove them and place them into a basket.
It’s a game that values the pinching motion used to remove the strawberries from the clothespins, as well as the speed and concentration needed to aim for a higher count within the time limit.
Making chimaki (bamboo leaf-wrapped rice dumplings)
Chimaki, the rice dumplings familiar from the Boys’ Festival (Tango no Sekku).
In the spirit of their original meaning—prayers for health and safety—here is how to make them.
Prepare non-glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice flour, granulated sugar, and water.
Add the ingredients in several batches, mixing each time to avoid lumps.
Once the mixture comes together, heat it in the microwave while checking the texture, aiming for a translucent, glossy finish.
Place it on a damp, well-wrung cloth and knead until elastic, then briefly cool it by dipping in cold water to remove residual heat.
Cut the mochi into long, thin pieces and shape them into cones.
Place two bamboo leaves slightly offset with the glossy side up, set a piece of mochi on top, and wrap.
Thread igusa (rush grass) through and tie it around the leaves to finish.
Before eating, you may find yourself reminiscing about childhood and sparking lively tales of days gone by.