[For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join
In special nursing homes for the elderly, recreational activities are held frequently.
Among residents with a wide range of physical conditions living together, some staff members may be wondering, “Is there a recreation activity that everyone can enjoy?”
In this article, we introduce recreational activities that people with varying physical conditions can enjoy.
Recreation is important not only for maintaining motor functions and cognitive abilities, but also for deepening interaction with others.
We cover a wide range—from brain-training activities to those that involve physical movement.
Please use this as a reference!
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Recommended! Seasonal Recreational Activities
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Recommended Even for People with Dementia! Simple Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation
- Recommended recreational activities for older adults with dementia
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities in Nursing Homes
- Games and recreational activities enjoyable in a wheelchair
- Recreation Activities Effective for Long-Term Care Prevention for Seniors
- Explaining interesting initiatives at nursing care facilities! We also introduce seasonal recreational activities.
- [October Health Topic] Introducing Recreational Activities for Seniors!
[For Seniors] Recreational Activities at Special Nursing Homes That Everyone Can Join (21–30)
Balloon volleyball in two teams
Recreation activities held as team competitions tend to really engage older adults.
Try dividing into two teams for balloon volleyball.
It’s recommended to set up a net or something that can serve as a substitute in the center.
Have older adults participate while seated in chairs.
The excitement will likely build just like in real volleyball.
Older adults with volleyball experience may even become star players.
Since there was a time when volleyball was very popular, some participants might recall their memories from back then.
karaoke
For older adults who enjoy singing, karaoke can be a delightful time.
Singing can help relieve stress and also trigger memories from when the songs were popular.
Some may find themselves reminiscing about the past, thinking, “Back then, this and that happened,” as they sing or listen to nostalgic songs.
In addition, moving the mouth while singing can be expected to have benefits as an oral exercise.
Even older adults who are not comfortable singing in front of others can still enjoy themselves by listening, clapping along, or humming together.
A game where you use a fan to get a balloon out of a basket
Here’s a balloon game that’s perfect for a lively festival atmosphere.
Place several inflated balloons in a basket, and have older adults sit around it holding paper fans.
At the call of “Start,” they fan the air to blow the balloons out of the basket within a set time.
It’s a simple game, but it really gets everyone excited.
Participants can enjoy cooperating with one another and calling out encouragement.
Whether the balloons make it out of the basket or not within the time limit, it’s a game that’s likely to bring smiles to the faces of the older adults.
combined paper cup
Here’s an introduction to a recreational activity called “Combining Paper Cups.” Prepare one rubber band with several strings tied to it.
Using the rubber band setup, pick up a paper cup and stack it onto another.
Adjust the rubber band by pulling or loosening the strings.
It’s a fun game that also provides gentle arm exercise, making it highly recommended.
Because it’s done with several people, it naturally encourages cooperation and interaction, which helps promote communication.
Talking with others also stimulates the brain, offering potential brain-training benefits.
The interaction itself becomes something to look forward to and can help you feel more lively and positive each day.
Whac-A-Mole
Here’s a fun and brain-training activity using paper cups: Whack-a-mole! Prepare about 10 to 20 paper cups and draw moles on them to make your moles.
Attach a pair of chopsticks to a paper cup to create a hammer for whacking the moles.
By involving older adults from the making stage, it also becomes a craft activity.
Whether as a craft or as a whack-a-mole game, it uses the hands.
Dexterous finger movements help stimulate the brain.
The whacking motion can help improve joint movement and is expected to boost concentration as well.
It would be exciting to turn it into a team competition for a recreation session.
magic hand grab
Here’s a “magic hand grab” activity that you can arrange in many different ways.
In this version, you use a grabber tool to collect paper cups lined up on a table.
Because it engages both the head and the hands, it can help stimulate the brain.
Another key point is that you can enjoy this activity in connection with the seasons.
For example, in spring you could draw cherry blossoms on the cups, and in summer you could draw seashells.
Doing so can make it easier to regain a sense of time.
There seem to be many possible variations.
Arunashi quiz
As a whiteboard activity and brain training, we recommend the “Yes/No Quiz.” You list words under two columns, “Yes” and “No.” The words in the “Yes” column share a common trait, while the ones in the “No” column don’t fit that criterion.
Participants write out words and try to figure out what the common trait is.
You can either list many examples at once, or reveal one “Yes” and one “No” at a time so the hints gradually increase.
All you need is a whiteboard to play—no extra materials—so it’s an easy, accessible activity.
