[For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
Introducing small-group recreational activities for seniors!
These are recommended for nursing homes and day service centers, where friends and peers can enjoy them together.
Large-group activities are lively and fun, but small groups have their own advantages.
With fewer participants, everyone has more chances to shine, and one-on-one communication becomes deeper.
This might even be a good opportunity to become friendly with people you don’t usually talk to.
There are many games to choose from, so feel free to use these ideas as a reference for planning activities at your facility!
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[For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreational Activities (71–80)
Beanbag Tower
Many older adults may have played with beanbags when they were young.
Some may have also played beanbag games with their own children or grandchildren.
Here’s a game that uses those beanbags to build a tower.
The rules are simple: compete to see how many beanbags you can stack on top of an upside-down paper cup.
By holding and stacking the beanbags, you can expect to improve or maintain fine motor balance and concentration.
You can focus and play on your own, or make it a team competition for extra excitement.
If you like, please give it a try.
Goldfish Game
At festival stalls, there’s usually a goldfish scooping game, right? Besides scooping, here’s a fun game that uses goldfish as the theme.
Two people hold the ends of a face towel, and place a goldfish plushie or a crafted goldfish on the towel.
While shaking the towel, they toss the goldfish into a basket that’s been set up in advance.
Assign points based on the size of the basket and the distance to the basket.
This innovative goldfish game should be enjoyable for older adults as well.
It also seems like it would be exciting to play as teams.
Ball Grabbing Game
Let’s play a game where you grab balls using newspaper.
All the tools used in the game are made from newspaper.
Make the balls by crumpling newspaper into a sphere, and make the grabbing sticks out of newspaper as well.
You can create everything you need for the game using everyday materials.
Place several balls inside a circle, grab them with the stick, and put them into a basket.
If you set a time limit, the game gets more exciting.
Forming teams and competing for the best time will make it even more fun.
Word Calculation Game
Here is a recreational activity where you try calculating words using the rules of arithmetic.
First, present a few example problems that allow people to discover the rule, and write their answers.
Then, once you feel people have grasped the rule, present the actual problems.
If no one can figure out the rule, it can get dull, so it’s a good idea to offer additional hints if necessary.
If you prepare the problems in advance, you can start without any special materials, so it’s something you can enjoy even in short spare moments.
card battle game
It’s a game where you compete to see who can arrange the numbers on the cards in numerical order the fastest.
It’s also fun to shuffle the numbered cards and place them down or turn them face down.
It serves as brain training for the elderly and is great for preventing cognitive decline.
Another nice point is that it can be played with a small number of people.
All you need is paper and a pen, so give it a try.
Ojami Wobble Game
Many older adults have probably played otedama (beanbag juggling) before, right? Some may have even skillfully used their hands and fingers to juggle two or three beanbags in the air.
Let’s play a fun game that uses familiar otedama to work the fingertips.
Place a paper plate on top of a short piece of a cut plastic wrap or foil core.
Then, place the beanbags on the paper plate one by one.
Since the paper plate is unstable, it wobbles each time you add a beanbag, creating a thrilling, heart-pounding effect.
It seems like older adults can enjoy a bit of tension while engaging in the game.
By the way, “ojami” is what otedama is called in the Kansai region.
Ball fishing game
Let me introduce a game that lets you practice fine motor skills while having fun.
It’s a game where you use a stick to pick up rubber balls.
The tip of the stick is fitted with the sticky side of tape, so the rubber balls attach to it.
It gets even more exciting as a two-player competitive game for older adults.
You’ll grip the stick and move your arms and hands a lot.
The person who picks up more balls than their opponent wins.
It can be played while seated, and with a bit of ingenuity, people who have difficulty moving their bodies freely can also participate.
Please use this as a reference and enjoy a fun time.