For Seniors: Making a September Calendar — Recommended Motif Ideas
In many older adults with dementia, disorientation often appears, making it difficult for them to recognize the season or the date.
Creating calendars that incorporate seasonal elements is recommended as a recreational activity for seniors, as it allows them to feel the seasons while doing hand and finger rehabilitation.
When it comes to September, many people might think of moon-viewing, dragonflies, or cosmos flowers.
It could be lively to have participants share other things that come to mind as well.
Please create a lovely calendar with motifs themed around September.
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[For Seniors] Making a September Calendar: Recommended Motifs Summary (1–10)
Origami calendar for the night of the full harvest moon
Speaking of September, there’s the night of the full harvest moon, also known as the Mid-Autumn Moon.
Let’s make an origami piece inspired by the Fifteenth Night and turn it into a calendar.
Rabbits, pampas grass, and rice dumplings all come to mind for the Fifteenth Night.
And since it’s also called the “Potato Moon,” how about folding some taro as well? As they fold the origami, some older adults may recall memories of moon-viewing with their families.
It might spark lively conversations.
With summer ending, creating this calendar can help us feel the arrival of autumn.
paper cutout of a red spider lily
The autumn equinoctial week, known as Aki no Ohigan, spans the three days before and after the autumnal equinox.
During this period, it is customary to visit graves, clean household altars, and make offerings.
Among older adults, some make a point of visiting graves every year without fail.
With that in mind, how about a calendar featuring spider lilies (higanbana), which are at their best from the Ohigan season through around October? Fold origami paper first, then cut it into the shape of spider lilies.
Some of the cutting requires fine detail, but when you unfold the paper, you can create a delicate spider lily design.
Grapes made with an origami heart
We’d like to introduce a calendar made with heart-shaped grape origami.
Autumn brings many harvests and everything tastes especially delicious, doesn’t it? It’s said that the peak shipping season for grapes generally starts around September.
A grape-themed calendar, one of the flavors of autumn, would help older adults feel the seasonal atmosphere.
Since the grapes are made from origami folded into heart shapes, some seniors might enjoy the cute style.
When making the grape vines, try wrapping vine-colored origami around a toothpick.
Add leaves and attach them to the grapes to create a piece that looks like real grapes.
[For Seniors] Making a September Calendar: Recommended Motifs Summary (11–20)
Moon-Viewing Skewered Dumplings
Let’s make skewered dumplings for the Moon Viewing festival (Otsukimi) out of origami and add them to a September calendar.
If you divide one sheet of origami paper into four equal parts, you can make four skewers.
First, crease the cut piece of origami paper, then proceed with the folds.
Because these are made with smaller pieces of paper, you’ll use fine motor skills as you fold.
This can also be expected to help stimulate the brain.
Four delicious-looking origami skewered dumplings—some older adults may be reminded of past Moon Viewing celebrations.
This piece can be used not only for calendars, but also for wreaths and wall decorations.
Japanese pampas grass
The harvest moon is celebrated in September.
It is an event to give thanks to the moon for the harvest while gazing at it.
Some older adults may spend the evening with family, offering rice dumplings and taro.
There is one more important offering for the harvest moon: pampas grass (susuki).
It has been believed to be a place where deities reside.
The key is to make it using kraft paper or double-sided colored origami paper.
Fold it and cut it into the shape of pampas grass.
Be sure to use scissors to make fine slits for the feathery seed heads, too.
If you also make pampas grass and display it together with your Harvest Moon piece on the calendar, it will look even more beautiful.
dragonfly
Autumn skies are also a time when many dragonflies flit about, aren’t they? Some older folks may have even twirled a finger in front of a dragonfly perched on a branch to make its eyes spin.
Let’s make a calendar with dragonfly origami that brings back memories like that.
Using a single sheet of origami paper, we’ll fold both the dragonfly’s body and wings.
Of course, we’ll also make its distinctive eyes from the same sheet.
When you think of dragonflies, red or yellow might come to mind.
But if you use different kinds of origami paper, you’ll get a colorful result.
Give it a try!
Full Moon Rabbit
Because the pattern on the full moon looks like a rabbit, we often associate rabbits with moon-viewing.
So let’s turn the Harvest Moon and a rabbit into a calendar.
With a single sheet of origami paper, you can create a piece featuring a rabbit against the full moon.
There are some detailed folding steps, so older adults who enjoy origami can really focus on the activity.
If it seems difficult, please support them by folding together.
Once it’s folded, draw eyes and a mouth on the rabbit’s face.
Adding the rabbit’s facial features will also bring out each older adult’s individuality in their work.