[For Senior Care Facilities] Easy! September Craft Ideas to Feel the Autumn Season
When it comes to September events and observances, the Mid-Autumn Moon, Respect-for-the-Aged Day, and the autumn equinoctial week come to mind.
These are long-standing traditions in Japan, so they should be familiar to many older adults.
In this context, we’re introducing simple craft activities suitable for senior facilities such as day service centers.
We’ve gathered many projects perfect for September, featuring motifs like moon-viewing rabbits and themes of longevity and health.
They’re fun to make, attractive to display, and likely to give a sense of accomplishment! Although summer is ending and autumn is approaching, some regions still experience hot days.
Craft activities are great because they can be done indoors and are accessible even for those who find physical movement challenging.
Please give them a try!
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[For Elderly Care Facilities] Easy! September Craft Ideas That Feel Like Autumn (41–50)
Noren Cosmos made with tissue paper
Let me introduce a noren-style cosmos decoration made from tissue paper that will brighten up your room.
Prepare tissue paper, paper straws, string, and a tension rod, and let’s get started.
Fold and cut the tissue paper to create petal pieces.
By adding curves or cutting jagged edges, you can make more three-dimensional flowers.
Hang the string on the tension rod, then attach the petals and stamen parts to the string.
Form small loops in the string and thread the petals through as you go.
It’s also important to adjust the shapes so the petals don’t overlap.
Grape picture postcard
We’re going to make a grape-themed craft using a stencil for stamping.
Cut construction paper into round shapes of different sizes.
Place the cut circles on the postcard backing and start stamping.
The key is to shift the circles as you stamp so they form the shape of a bunch of grapes.
You can use pieces of cut sponge as stamps, or purchase dedicated stamps from craft stores.
This stamping craft seems like something older adults would also enjoy.
Once it’s finished, you can have fun sending your grape art postcards to family and friends.
Cosmos and Dragonflies
https://www.tiktok.com/@karitasunosato/video/7295353076678954247It varies by variety, but cosmos flowers are at their best around September.
You’ve probably seen fields covered in colorful cosmos, haven’t you? Cosmos is a seasonal word for autumn in haiku, and it also has a commemorative day in September.
Incorporating cosmos— which evoke autumn and September— into a calendar can help older adults feel the season as well.
Cut origami or construction paper into cosmos shapes and paste them onto the calendar backing.
If you also make dragonflies, a quintessential autumn insect, and display them together, you’ll create a piece that conveys an even stronger autumn atmosphere.
Moon and Cosmos
@hirose_ds TranslationElderlyRecreationSeptemberOctoberCalendarTranslationCosmosMid-Autumn Moon (Harvest Moon on the fifteenth night)
♬ Secret Base (From “Anohana”) – Eddie Van Der Meer
For the September calendar, let’s use the moon and cosmos flowers as our theme.
The full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival and cosmos, one of the representative flowers of autumn—cut these two motifs out of origami or construction paper, or fold them with origami, and paste them onto the calendar base.
A calendar featuring graceful cosmos blooming under the harvest moon will help seniors feel the season as well.
It’s said that from September to October is the time when the moon looks most beautiful.
During this period, it rains regularly, washing dust out of the air, so the moon can be seen in clear, crisp skies.
Moon-Viewing Skewered Dumplings
Let’s make skewered dumplings for the Moon Viewing festival (Otsukimi) out of origami and add them to a September calendar.
If you divide one sheet of origami paper into four equal parts, you can make four skewers.
First, crease the cut piece of origami paper, then proceed with the folds.
Because these are made with smaller pieces of paper, you’ll use fine motor skills as you fold.
This can also be expected to help stimulate the brain.
Four delicious-looking origami skewered dumplings—some older adults may be reminded of past Moon Viewing celebrations.
This piece can be used not only for calendars, but also for wreaths and wall decorations.
Moon-viewing dumplings
During the moon-viewing season in September, some households knead dango flour and offer rice dumplings.
Since ready-made ones are widely available these days, perhaps making them at home has become less common.
Older adults may also have made dumplings and celebrated the Harvest Moon with their families.
Let’s try making rice dumplings out of origami that you can display on a September calendar.
We’ll fold the dumplings, a sheet of hanshi (thin paper), and a sanpō (offering stand).
By placing the dumplings on the sanpō, the piece will look even more realistic.
Through creating this craft, older adults might share stories about moon-viewing festivals they spent with their families.
raccoon dog
The moon and tanuki are said to be closely connected.
It’s believed that tanuki gather on moonlit nights, drumming on their bellies like taiko and dancing.
On the night of the harvest moon, when offerings like rice dumplings and taro are placed out, you might even hear their lively dance.
Try incorporating tanuki into your September calendar craft—fold a tanuki with origami and paste it onto the calendar as decoration.
As you work, some older adults may be reminded of the children’s song “Shōjōji no Tanukibayashi.”