[For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups

Towel relay with newspaper

2 Recreation Mini-Activities You Can Do with a Newspaper Stick and a Towel

Here are two games that use newspapers and are great for getting a large group excited.

The first is the Newspaper Towel Relay.

Have older adults sit in a circle, and use a long, rolled-up newspaper stick to pass a towel to the person next to them.

The person who receives it last should throw their hands up and shout to signal the goal.

The second is the Towel Catch Game.

The person holding the towel throws it toward a teammate, and the teammate catches it with a newspaper stick.

The thrower needs to control the strength of their throw, and the receiver needs to imagine where it will fly in order to catch it well.

Recreational activities that get lots of people involved can spark conversations between those who don’t usually interact.

Enjoy these activities that help expand your circle.

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moko

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Newspaper Stick Holder

Recreation for seniors: super simple, exciting, and fun newspaper stick-in game

Think back to your school sports day—chances are you enjoyed the “tamaire” (beanbag toss) event once or twice.

The activity introduced here, “Newspaper Stick Toss,” is a variation of that game.

What you’ll need is a target made from milk cartons: cut off the spouts and attach about nine cartons together to create the target.

Then, participants throw rolled-up newspaper sticks at the target.

Sticks made from newspaper about 15 cm long work well; about pencil thickness makes them easy to throw.

Set your own rules—like a time attack or taking turns one throw at a time—and have fun!

Newspaper scooping!

[Elderly Care] Senior Recreation: Newspaper Scoop!

The “goldfish scooping” game at festival stalls is so much fun.

Just watching others scoop can be exciting, right? I bet many people ended up keeping goldfish because of that game.

Here, we’d like to introduce a similar activity called “newspaper scooping.” First, cut newspaper into strips about 2–3 cm wide; making each strip about three times as long as its width makes them easier to scoop.

Next, prepare long chopsticks or stick-like tongs.

Using those sticks, scoop up the newspaper strips as a recreation activity.

It feels great when you can pick up a lot, so be sure to prepare plenty of newspaper!

Fingerplay “Tea Picking”

tea picking

Here’s an introduction to the hand play “Chatsumi” (Tea Picking).

I think most of you are familiar with this song! The choreography is simple—just clapping and a “ton-ton” tapping—but when everyone’s timing matches perfectly, it’s a lot of fun.

It’s a great recreation activity with a cheerful melody and moves you can enjoy while sitting in a chair.

Be sure to try it in a circle with everyone!

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Murakami Shinpei

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Surefire! Brain Training Exercises

[Congratulations on surpassing 400,000 views!] We’ll show you a surefire, exciting brain-training routine! [Preventive care]

A brain-training exercise that lots of seniors can do together! Exercising is more fun with everyone than doing it alone, right? And if it also trains your brain, even better! The movements are simple.

Using both hands, do the following in order: “open–close,” “open–close–open,” “open–close–open–scissors,” and “open–close–open–scissors–open hand.” After the fourth one, go back to “open–close.” The moves themselves are easy and can be done while seated, but as you keep going, your head starts to get mixed up—that’s the hallmark of this brain-training exercise.

That’s exactly why it’s such a great routine for older adults!

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SAKI

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