For Seniors: Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas
Wishing that older adults can spend each day in good health!
In this article, we’ll introduce senior activities that we truly hope you’ll try—ones that can energize you from the bottom of your heart.
We’ve gathered a wide range of options, from brain-training types to activities that get you moving.
There are ideas you can quietly work on alone, as well as recreational activities everyone can do together.
Read through to the end, think it over carefully, and choose the ones that are perfect for the seniors who will be participating!
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- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- Liven up the Respect-for-the-Aged gathering: A roundup of recreational activities everyone can enjoy.
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Recommended Handmade Activities! Simple Ideas
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- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Brain-training puzzle game you can enjoy solo! Perfect pastime for killing time
[For Seniors] Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas (91–100)
Inchworm Brain Training Exercise
Let’s stimulate your brain with a finger play that mimics an inchworm’s movement.
Inchworms move by stretching and contracting their bodies, right? We’ll recreate that motion with your fingers as a hand game.
Touch the tips of your index finger and thumb together on both hands.
From there, bend one thumb and touch it to the index finger of the other hand.
Then alternate by bending an index finger to touch the thumb on the other hand, and keep repeating this pattern.
The motion looks like an inchworm, doesn’t it? At first, it can be hard to make each finger meet the opposite one smoothly, but working to make the connections is said to help activate your brain.
Brain training with Rock-Paper-Scissors on Mito Komon
Many older adults have probably watched the drama Mito Kōmon at least once, don’t you think? It’s about Mito Kōmon traveling around Japan, and the show’s theme song is famous too.
Using the theme song “Aa Jinsei ni Namida Ari,” let’s do a finger-play activity with the rock-paper-scissors motions.
Clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and pull it toward yourself, while making a hand (paper) with the other and extend it forward.
Another pattern is: clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and extend it forward, then use scissors to pull it back.
It might be easier for older adults to participate if it’s a song they already know.
Paper Cup Sumo
There’s a game called paper sumo, where you play with paper wrestlers.
Some older adults may have played it at least once.
Using paper cups and a fan, you can try a different version.
Divide the tabletop in half to set territories, and place paper cups as the wrestlers.
The wrestlers move using the force of air when you flap the fan.
Since it’s sumo, if a wrestler falls off the tabletop ring, they lose.
Flapping the fan back and forth will surely liven up the recreation.
It’s a game where you can almost hear the chant, “Nokotta, nokotta!”
Frog kick
A recreation where you kick with a hop! Here are some ideas for a Frog Kick activity.
How about hosting a recreation themed around frogs that love the rain? Once you stick frog illustrations on the floor, you’re all set! While seated, place a beanbag or a weighted paper cup on your feet and kick it up with a burst of energy.
If it lands on the frog illustration, you clear the challenge! It’s a bit like the old shoe-toss game—many people may feel a wave of nostalgia.
Give it a try!
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.
Song Exercise: Snail
You can use it even in the little breaks between activities! Here are some ideas for a sing-and-exercise routine using “Snail.” Isn’t the children’s song “Snail” one that everyone has heard before? Let’s enjoy the rainy season with song and exercise.
Singing out loud can really clear your mind! And by adding simple movements, you’ll likely stimulate both the brain and the body.
It’s okay if you mess up the choreography.
You can easily try it while making your own adjustments, so be sure to give it a go.