[For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities in Nursing Homes
In this article, we introduce lively recreational activities for seniors to enjoy at day service centers and other care facilities!
Facilities offer many different types of activities every day.
We’ve gathered a wide variety—from ones that are great for lively group fun to those enjoyable for individuals or small groups—so please use this as a reference when you’re wondering, “What should we do today?”
Many activities can be enjoyed while seated, so everyone can participate and have fun together.
It can also be interesting to change the rules or add your own twists depending on the facility!
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[For Seniors] Exciting Recreational Activities to Enjoy at Nursing Homes (41–50)
target practice
A target-hitting game using uchiwa fans is recommended for older adults because it helps improve concentration.
First, prepare a garment rack, hang uchiwa fans on the hangers, and draw point values on them.
You can throw anything—beanbags, balls, even uchiwa fans.
It’s a competitive game where the player with the highest total of the points they hit wins.
Competing together also enhances communication skills.
It’s appealing because it can be enjoyed as either an individual or team match.
If you draw summery designs on the uchiwa used as targets, you can fully enjoy the season and savor a summery atmosphere.
Clothespin scooping
Let’s try a goldfish-scooping style game you see at fairs, using a fan (uchiwa) and clothespins.
Place clothespins on a table, prepare a paper cup or basket, and use the fan to scoop and drop the clothespins into the container.
It looks simple, but it seems to take some skill to scoop the clothespins with a fan.
Since you use your hands, it can also serve as a bit of training.
You can focus and play alone, or play head-to-head with two people and compete for the fastest time to scoop up all the clothespins.
Kero Kero Catchy
Exciting recreation! Here’s an idea for Kero-Kero Catcher.
It’s a game where you catch balloons with frog illustrations on them and compete for points.
Track the balloons with your eyes and try to catch them firmly while enjoying their unpredictable, wiggly movements.
Prepare cardboard or empty boxes, balloons, plastic bags, and tape, and make your own Kero-Kero Catcher.
Once you get the hang of it, it could be fun to assign different point values to each balloon color!
Word association game about spring
Let me introduce a “word association game” that’s fun to play while chatting and can accommodate any group size, from a few people to many.
Given a prompt like “What comes to mind when you hear ___?”, say aloud as many associated words as you can think of.
Writing all the answers on a whiteboard so everyone can see helps prevent duplicates and also uses existing answers as hints to spark further associations.
Reflecting on your own experiences and thinking about words, seasonal foods, culture, and other commonalities with the topic engages the brain, which may help prevent cognitive decline.
Communication Card
If you’re looking for a card game that energizes the brain and the heart, this is a must-see! Here’s how to play a communication card game.
The rules are very simple: prepare several cards with prompts such as flowers, animals, colors, or foods.
The person who draws a card names three things related to the word on the card.
For example, if someone draws a card that says “Flowers,” it’s OK if they can name three flower names like tulip, cherry blossom, and dandelion.
It seems great for improving vocabulary and memory! If you add twists to the prompts, like “Something great about the person next to you” or “Something that made you happy recently,” the conversation will definitely take off.
Give it a try!
Onigiri Game
Let us introduce the “Onigiri Game,” a fun way to rehabilitate from fingers to arms.
Connect a stick and a plate with a string, placing the stick on your near side and the plate on the opposite side.
Set the rice balls (onigiri) on the plate to start.
Participants use their hands to turn the stick and wind up the string.
The plate will gradually be pulled closer, but don’t let the onigiri fall.
Wind steadily—neither too fast nor too slow—while watching out for obstacles.
The player with more onigiri at the end wins.
You can enjoy it repeatedly by adding more obstacles on the table or making the onigiri lighter, and so on.
Rolling beach ball
It’s a game where you skillfully control a string connected to the chair opposite you to move a beach ball resting on it.
Your ability to judge how moving the string in your hands affects the ball’s motion is put to the test.
You move the ball by changing angles and widening the span, while simultaneously being careful not to let the string slack—this dual task helps stimulate the brain.
The longer the string, the harder it is to control, so once you get used to it, we recommend gradually trying longer setups.
