For Seniors: Enjoy Every Day! A Collection of Senior Recreation Ideas

A drill where you reel in a rope with your foot

Hilarious 😂 Easy activity! Just pull it in with your feet! This is tomorrow’s activity! #elderly #dayservice #shorts #rec

This is a game where you use back-and-forth foot movements to reel in a rope at your feet and race to pull a distant basket closer.

While the basket is being pulled in, someone throws balled-up newspaper into it, making it heavier and requiring more effort to move as more balls are added.

Once the basket reaches your feet, count how many balls are inside; the person who pulled their basket in faster with fewer balls is the winner.

Decide on your strategy—whether to make big strides or move your feet quickly in small motions—and see what works best for you.

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Foot Beanbag Bingo

Beanbag Toss Bingo #Recreation #DayService #Seniors

One activity option for events and parties is a bingo game.

Many older adults are already familiar with bingo, aren’t they? While bingo is usually played on paper, this time we’ll introduce a version that uses the feet and beanbags.

Prepare nine paper plates or cups, and have the older adults use their feet to toss beanbags into them.

Use colored tape to group the plates or cups by color, and change the score based on where the beanbag lands.

For example, award 20 points if the beanbag lands in a plate or cup of the same color, and 10 points if it’s a different color.

Because they lift their legs to toss the beanbags, older adults can enjoy the game while also training their legs.

Three-letter shiritori

Recreation for Seniors – Super Easy! Three-Letter Shiritori on a Whiteboard

What’s the very first game you remember learning as a child? Tag, rock-paper-scissors, and of course some might say shiritori.

Let’s spice things up with a twist—not just regular shiritori, but “three-letter shiritori.” Writing answers on a whiteboard takes a bit more time, but seeing each person’s handwriting and simple doodles can spark all kinds of conversation.

Plus, using your hands makes it a nice brain workout.

If you have a whiteboard, you can also enjoy illustrated shiritori just as it is.

Making words with the a-row and ka-row

Recreation and simple brain training for seniors! Create words on a whiteboard using the A row or K row (Japanese syllables).

Games like “how many words can you make using each hiragana from the 50-sound chart exactly once” or “how many words can you list that start with a” are examples of brain-training games that involve making words from hiragana.

The rules are simple: using the ten hiragana from the A and KA rows, see how many words you can create.

For example, ai → 愛 (love), ike → 池 (pond), uo → 魚 (fish)… you can probably come up with a lot.

You can also switch to other rows, like KA and SA, and enjoy it that way too—in other words, it’s a game you can enjoy endlessly.

To avoid duplicates, please write your answers on a whiteboard!

Ojami Wobble Game

Ojami Wobble Game #dayservice #recreation #Nichinan #Miyazaki #teamwork #dayservicerecreation #rec

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.

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Nakajima Junko

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A simple activity using ohajiki (small traditional Japanese game pieces)

[Elderly Recreation] A Big Hit!? Simple Recreation Using Ohajiki (Marbles) [Traditional Games, Reminiscence Therapy, Day Service Activities, Preventive Care]

Some older adults may have played ohajiki when they were young or with their children.

Here are some simple recreational activities you can do with ohajiki.

Beyond lining them up on a table or floor and flicking one with your finger to hit another, there are many ways to play.

For example, you can play a curling-like game by flicking ohajiki onto a sheet with a circle and point values, or stack the pieces upward.

With a bit of creativity, it seems there are plenty of ways to enjoy ohajiki.

In addition to using your fingertips, these games can help improve concentration and promote communication.

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Nakajima Junko

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Othello

Brain workout with Othello! #nursinghome #cognitiverehab #Othello #focus #attention #shorts

Move the Othello discs with your hands and keep those fingers active.

Othello has simple rules, so many older adults are probably familiar with it.

Through the game, you’ll pick up the discs with your fingers and move them around.

Just moving your fingertips alone can help stimulate the brain.

But Othello isn’t only about finger movement, is it? You also think things like, “What will happen if I place it there?” or “How can I prevent them from taking the corner?” You take on the game while thinking.

Advancing the game while considering your opponent is said to be good brain training as well.

With seated Othello, many seniors can engage in it and have fun at the same time.

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Nakajima Junko

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