[October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
In October, when the mild weather continues, many older adults may feel like getting more active.
So this time, we’re introducing recreational activities perfect for seniors in October.
We’ve gathered a wide range of ideas, from exercises you can do seated indoors to crafts that evoke the spirit of October.
In addition to helping prevent falls, exercise is said to stimulate the brain, promote activation, and may also help prevent dementia.
We hope these October health ideas bring smiles to older adults.
Move your body without overexertion, and use fine motor activities to support brain training.
- [For Senior Care Facilities] Fun! Recommended Events for October
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [May Health Topic] Introducing recreational activities for seniors!
- September Health Topic: Introducing Recreational Activities That Capture the Feeling of Autumn’s Arrival
- For Seniors: Simple and Fun! November Recreation Ideas
- [March Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
- [For Seniors] Recreation Games Related to October Events
- [For Seniors] Fun Autumn Activities: Recreation Games
- For Seniors: Easy Crafts Recommended for October
- [For Seniors] Let’s have fun with October trivia and fun facts quizzes!
- [For Seniors] Introducing Recreational Activities Anyone Can Enjoy at Geriatric Health Facilities!
- [For Seniors] Leg and lower-back training: Fall prevention
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
[October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors! (21–30)
A crossword featuring the flavors of autumn
This is a recreational activity featuring a crossword puzzle themed around autumn flavors.
Prepare the grid in advance, provide across and down clues, and have participants derive the answers.
Incorporating English words or fun facts into the clues adds an element that invites deeper thought and can help stimulate the brain.
Questions that feel obvious yet hard to recall—like “a sweet fruit harvested in autumn,” which would be “persimmon”—can liven up the atmosphere.
Setting a time limit creates a sense of tension, and a team-based, cooperative format is also recommended.
After the correct answers are revealed, the conversation can naturally expand to topics about each ingredient, prompting memories and impressions of eating them, making it a great opportunity for social interaction.
Autumn Delicacies Ranking
Here’s an idea for a seasonal recreation activity perfect for seniors: “Autumn Flavors Ranking.” Using real popular-vote sites as references, pose questions themed around the top five most popular autumn foods.
If you have participants guess without hints, differences in knowledge, experience, and personal preferences become conversation starters, and the discussion naturally expands.
The answer reveal is also a big highlight.
You can compete on the number of correct answers, or simply enjoy chatting about “This is my number one!” It’s an appealing activity because anyone can join without physical movement, and it also stimulates the brain—highly recommended.
Autumn Word Collection Brain Training
This is a brain-training activity where participants freely write words related to the season on a whiteboard under the theme “What comes to mind when you think of autumn?” Participants say as many words as they can think of, and staff write them on the board.
Once a certain number has been collected, the board is hidden, and participants are asked to recall and say as many of the words as they remember.
This activity stimulates memory while naturally developing creativity and vocabulary.
Talking about seasonal topics helps evoke shared memories and emotions, encouraging the enjoyment of speaking and broadening conversation.
Because it focuses on enjoyment rather than right or wrong answers, it allows older adults to use their brains without strain, making it a suitable and enjoyable recreation.
Reminiscence Session: Nostalgic Tools from Early Showa Era
Reminiscence therapy is a type of psychotherapy in which you choose a theme, recall past memories, and reflect on the scenery, environment, and your own self from that time.
To help you remember, it’s good to prepare photos or videos of tools you used in the past—or the actual items if possible.
By recalling details such as how the tool was used (“I used it like this”), when and under what circumstances (“I used it at night after finishing farm work”), or specific experiences (“I was scolded because I couldn’t use it well”), you can evoke a wide range of memories.
You may learn related episodes and even remember things the person themselves had forgotten.
When continued, this approach is considered to have beneficial effects on improving cognitive function.
Tossing balls into a small hole
Let’s try a ball-toss game using a cardboard box and colored balls! Here’s an idea where you aim and throw into small holes.
Normally, in a ball-toss game, you throw small balls into a tall basket and compete on how many you can get in.
This time, we’ll use a flat cardboard box and challenge ourselves to throw balls into small holes instead.
It’s a great way to build concentration and control.
If you don’t have colored balls, you can substitute with beanbags or balls made by crumpling up newspaper.
3 Fun Rubber Band Games
Rubber is characterized by its springy motion, and controlling your strength is necessary to make it move the way you want.
Let’s take on games that use rubber’s movement to help improve strength control and concentration.
In Rubber Rubber Shooter, you’ll feel the force used to launch; in Rubber Rubber Kick Bowling, the force of the rebound; and in Rubber Rubber Curling, the nuances of delicate movement.
By paying attention to how the way you apply force affects how it springs back and by adjusting that force, you’ll likely find your movements become smoother in everyday life as well.
stick-tapping activity
Teams are divided and do a relay with a stick and a bucket, competing to see which side can act first on a ball placed in front of the person at the end.
The stick’s role is to hit the ball, while the bucket’s role is to cover the ball and block it, making the outcome easy to see.
Once everyone understands the rules, try arranging how the stick and bucket are passed, and quickly pass what comes to you while thinking about who to hand it to next.
Rather than focusing on winning or losing, it’s important to encourage calling out to one another and to emphasize communication.