[For Seniors] Enjoy May! Recommended Recreational Activities and Games
May is full of events, isn’t it?
Did you know that in addition to Children’s Day and Mother’s Day, there are also days like Makeup Day and Hyakunin Isshu Day?
In this article, we’ll introduce May-themed recreational activities and games for seniors.
It’s perfect for those thinking, “What should we do for May activities?”
With the warm weather, why not enjoy recreation not only indoors but also outdoors?
These activities will enrich the minds and bodies of older adults.
Let’s savor the feeling of the season in May through these recreational ideas.
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[For Seniors] Enjoy May! Recommended Recreational Activities and Games (21–30)
Tea Picking Rec
From late April to early May is said to be the season for picking the first tea leaves.
Some older adults may enjoy fresh new tea.
For a May activity, how about a recreation set to the children’s song “Chatsumi” (Tea Picking)? Place long, thin strips of newspaper in a box and use sticks to scoop them up as if picking tea leaves.
Having older adults help cut the newspapers into long strips also provides fine motor training for their fingertips.
Doing this while singing or listening to “Chatsumi” can help them feel the season.
May calendar
Let’s make a May calendar that gets you excited about what plans to add! Try drawing koi-shaped streamers for Children’s Day on the calendar, or flowers that bloom in May like roses and irises.
You could also make them with origami, not just by drawing! Sensing the seasons in this way is very important for older adults.
It’s easy to print the date grid from the internet, but you could also have older adults write the numbers themselves as a kind of brain training.
Add some color to the holidays and create a bright, cheerful calendar!
[For Seniors] Enjoy May! Recommended Recreational Activities and Games (31–40)
Fingerplay “Chatsubo”
How about trying a little hand game called “Chatsubo” during tea-picking season? You alternately make a tea jar and its lid with your hands, and if you manage to put the lid on the jar right when the song ends, you succeed—but it’s trickier than it sounds.
Just doing the hand motions might be easy, but once you try it to the “Chatsubo” song, anyone will end up flustered! Still, that slightly challenging movement is great for helping prevent dementia.
Gather a bunch of people, sing along, and have fun cheering each other on—“I did it!” “I didn’t!”—and get the party going!
Seasonal ingredients quiz for early May
There are plenty of ingredients that are in season in May, such as potatoes, Japanese pepper (sansho), and mantis shrimp (shako).
Let’s do a brain-training quiz using these seasonal May ingredients! In this brain teaser, the names of ingredients that are in season in May are scrambled, and you rearrange the letters to form the correct ingredient names.
Ingredients with fewer letters might be easy, but as the letter count increases and smaller characters are included, it can feel a bit challenging.
When scrambling the words, use hiragana or katakana instead of kanji.
It may look simple, but it actually gives your brain a solid workout, so it’s highly recommended!
Healthy Chanbara
Have you heard of Kenko-Chambara (Healthy Chambara)? It’s a chambara exercise that uses a sword by combining slashing, blocking, striking a pose, and vocalization, adapting the stage fighting techniques seen in period dramas.
It’s like a natural extension of how little boys often play with toy swords.
Shouting loudly and swinging a sword around sounds like a great way to feel refreshed, doesn’t it? It might even help relieve stiff shoulders!
Ping-pong ball catch
May and June, when temperatures gradually rise and it feels good to get moving, are the perfect season for exercise.
Prepare some fun activities and gently loosen up bodies that got sluggish over the winter! This time, we’re introducing “Ping-Pong Ball Catch.” Attach strips of duct tape in a grid pattern across a hula hoop, then have someone hold it with the sticky side facing up.
From a distance, throw ping-pong balls and have them catch the balls on the taped area.
Adjust the size of the hoop according to participants’ abilities so everyone can enjoy it.
It also serves as upper-limb training while you play, making it a great recommendation for recreational activities in senior care facilities.
Whac-A-Mole game
Moles that usually live underground also pop their heads out in spring.
When you think of spring, some people might even answer, “moles.” How about a game of whack-a-mole as a May recreation? It’s easy to enjoy using paper cups and disposable chopsticks.
Let’s draw moles on the paper cups.
If seniors each draw their favorite faces, you’ll end up with a lot of unique, characterful moles! You can make the hammer by fixing a disposable chopstick to a paper cup.
As soon as you shout “Ready, start!” whack the moles with the hammer! It’s bound to turn into a heated and fun battle!
