[For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
Introducing fun seated recreational activities for older adults!
Even when you want to do exercises in nursing homes or day service centers, activities that are too intense or put strain on the legs and back can increase the risk of falls.
The activities we’re introducing this time are recommended because everyone can enjoy them while staying seated.
From exercises that move only the hands to games that engage the entire upper body, choose whatever looks fun from the many options available.
They’re even more exciting if you make them team competitions!
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[For Seniors] Easy and Fun Seated Activities You Can Do in Your Room (91–100)
Otedama Hoi
Here’s a simple recreation activity using a large bath towel and beanbags.
Two people sit facing each other on chairs and each holds an end of the bath towel.
Place several beanbags in the center of the towel.
Working together, the two people shake the towel to build momentum and toss the beanbags toward a target.
It gets exciting when many beanbags land in the target.
Another key point of this activity is cooperation between the two participants.
Older adults can naturally create opportunities for interaction by calling out to each other and working together.
Through this recreation, it’s likely to bring more smiles to older adults.
Casual Ball Curling
Curling became well-known through the Winter Olympics, so many of you may already be familiar with it.
It’s a team game where you compete to see which team can get their balls closer to the center ball.
Preparing this recreation is as simple as getting a few balls ready.
That’s all it takes to create a fun activity that helps participants interact more with each other.
Since it can be played while seated, it’s also appealing because it can be enjoyed in a way that suits the physical and mental conditions of older adults.
Recipe card
This is a card game where you pick two words from the lined-up cards and combine them to complete the name of a dish.
The key is how many dish names you can recall from memory based on the letters in front of you.
It’s also recommended to shuffle in a dummy card that forms a complete dish name on its own—it can mislead players, spark ideas, or serve as a hint for a similar dish.
It should be fun not only to come up with correct dish names, but also to invent plausible-sounding ones that don’t actually exist.
Chopstick Ball-Carrying Game
Here’s an introduction to a fingertip game where you use chopsticks to pick up and carry small items.
Games that involve fine finger movements can help stimulate the brain.
They’re also useful for training movements needed in daily life.
What you’ll need is an ice tray for making ice—one that makes small cubes is recommended.
Prepare some craft pom-poms (also called “pompoms”) and a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks.
You can get everything you need at a 100-yen shop, so preparation is easy.
Starting from one end of the ice tray, use the chopsticks to pick up the pom-poms and place them into the compartments.
This action helps train eating-related movements.
Since it’s a seated game, it’s likely to be easy for older adults to try.
karuta (traditional Japanese playing cards)
Karuta is a game where you listen to the reading cards and compete to grab the picture cards.
It’s recommended for people with dementia because it stimulates hearing and sight.
When playing with a large group, commercially available karuta sets may be a bit small, so it could be fun to make your own sets together, such as a “Popular Songs Karuta” or a “National Travel Karuta.” Karuta used to be a classic New Year’s pastime, and many older adults likely have one or two memories connected to it.
It would be wonderful to enjoy karuta along with those memories and the conversations they bring.
Korokoro Push Game
It’s a game where you use a stick to keep balls from falling as they roll toward you.
Since the field where the balls roll is far away, your ability to control a long stick that can effectively transfer force to the balls is put to the test.
The rules increase the number of balls gradually over time, which adds a decision-making element about which ball to tap.
It’s a game that can train various skills—judgment, speed, control, and how you apply force—by keeping all these factors in mind.
Shiritori
Shiritori, a word game many of us have played since childhood, is also a recommended recreation for people with dementia.
One of its strengths is how easy it is—no materials or preparation required.
It’s handy for filling small pockets of time, like on the bus when going out to the suburbs.
Another plus is that you can adjust the difficulty to match the person’s cognitive level.
You can customize freely with rules like “three-letter words only” or “food items only.” You could also set a goal, such as “finish after connecting 50 words.”