[For Seniors] Brain-Training Recreation Using a Whiteboard

Stroke Count Guessing

[Senior Brain Training × Care Recreation] Stroke Count Guessing 8: Dementia and Nursing Care Prevention Video for Seniors [Fukukuru]

Do you still handwrite characters? Many people may find themselves writing less if they don’t really need to.

In times like that, a fun recommendation is a stroke-order quiz.

For each kanji, guess which stroke number corresponds to the part drawn in red.

Start with simple characters that have fewer strokes, and then gradually increase the number of strokes or mix in kanji that make you think, “What was the stroke order again?” Don’t worry if you make mistakes—use those moments to learn or jog your memory.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Fill-in-the-blank Kanji Problems

[Today's Rec] “Thursday, June 2” An easy indoor recreation using a whiteboard: “Fill-in-the-blank Quiz”

Many young people these days struggle with kanji due to the widespread use of computers and smartphones.

So, drawing on the idea of ‘skills once learned,’ let’s have seniors enjoy a “kanji fill-in-the-blank” game.

You place a single kanji character in the center, then set one blank each to its top, bottom, left, and right.

This time, using the kanji 地, you create two-character compounds like 土地 (land), 湿地 (wetland), 現地 (on-site), and 地下 (underground).

It’s like a kanji version of a crossword puzzle.

Depending on whether you make the blank come before or after the central character, the variations increase, making it great brain training as well.

Picture shiritori

Effective for senior recreation and dementia prevention! Laugh and have fun with whiteboard “Picture Shiritori.”

This is a classic game everyone knows—Shiritori—with a drawing twist.

Players guess what’s drawn on the whiteboard and then connect it to the next drawing that starts with the last sound of the previous word.

After the game has progressed to some extent, pause and check whether the shiritori chain was valid.

The process of thinking of words, moving your hands, and drawing them helps stimulate the brain.

If someone lacks confidence in their drawing, offering hints is recommended—by getting creative with how hints are given, you can help develop their thinking skills.

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kappamaki

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Word Calculation Game

[Whiteboard Rec] Word Calculation Rec — We tried a recreation using the rules of numerical calculation

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.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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An association game using initials

[June Recommended Rec] Two Patterns of Association Brain Training Games [Whiteboard Brain Training]

How about some brain training with a word association game? We’ll start by listing keywords for the prompt “What comes to mind in June?” Once we’ve got words like “rainy season,” “hydrangea,” and “snail,” we’ll use the five-letter word “hydrangea” (ajisai) this time.

Take the initial sounds “a,” “ji,” “sa,” and “i,” and set each to form a word of any length.

It’ll look like: “a〇〇,” “ji〇〇〇,” “sa〇〇〇〇,” “i〇〇.” Finally, think of letters to fill in the 〇’s and complete the words.

It’s that thing they do on variety shows as a comedy-improv segment.