After School Activities - Fort Lauderdale,FL

Why not let them decide what to do together, board games, play in the yard, read, etc..

I don't understand why parents now days feel they need to entertain their children 24/7, children need to entertain themselves so they can learn to be independent. I also don't know why children need to be doing something all the time, they need down time after school and other activities just like adults after work, etc..

I'm with Mamazita and Jackie P. While I spend time with my boys sometimes, I never thought it to be my job to entertain them. They learned early on how to entertain themselves. Now they are 11 and 18 and they keep busy on their own easily. They do help out around the house quite a bit, but they also spend time playing backyard basketball, playing with the dog, making videos, etc. They have also both learned to cook (first with me, then with each other, now on their own).

We live on a farm, so there aren't neighbor kids to play with, but they invite friends over often, and they go over to friends' homes, too. My boys never complain of being bored because they know I will quickly find something that needs to be cleaned. My oldest will leave for college in a few months, and I know it will be hard on my youngest, but even then I expect he will still find things to keep himself busy.

*I know my boys are older than yours, but the same applied when they were younger.

my boys had that same age gap, and a schedule not too removed from yours.
it was not my job to entertain them.
fortunately they didn't need me to, but probably because i never felt compelled to fill their hours for them so they always knew how to do it. they rode bikes, played with neighborhood kids, played (and fought) with each other, played on the swingset, played with the dog, read books, watched some tv, and yeah, sometimes whined at me about being bored and promptly got assigned some chores.
that's not to say i didn't do anything with them. from time to time we went to the parks, or i took them to the barn and they groomed or rode, or we played board games, or art or creative projects.
not a lot though. the only thing i'd drop most everything for to do for them was read to them if they asked for it. but they also had nightly bedtime AND breakfast stories until they were driving themselves.
boredom is the world's best creativity motivation.
let it do its work.
khairete
S.

Sounds like they have a healthy balance.
While it's a great idea to keep them active (maybe you could do some outings once or twice a week, like going to the library, or on a bike ride or a hike) there's actually nothing wrong with kids being "bored" once in a while. It's not really your job to entertain them 24/7, you've got stuff to do and they can and should use their imagination, play outside, build forts, read a book, work on puzzles, play video games, watch a movie, whatever.
You could always put them to work, cleaning toilets or something, I bet THAT stops them from being "bored" pretty quick ;-)

I worked PT from home prior and I found it very difficult to do many playdates after school. Like you, many of DD's friends were/are in aftercare. IMO, I think its fine for them to be home unless you want to do an outing. Maybe here and there go to a museum, on a walk, to a park, etc. If my DD says she's "bored" I think of the things that need doing around the house and enlist her in cleaning her room, brushing the cat, reading a book, etc. You might consider a "I'm bored" jar, with some of the things being fun (books, 20 minutes of iPad time...) and some not so much (scoop cat litter, take out the trash). There's always something to be done, I'm sure. I think "bored" is just a common kid thing and it's not really your job to always think of something for them to do. ;)

I also like the idea of having craft items available for them to make up stuff with, or encouraging them to take an old box and turn it into something. Two books come to mind: Andrew's Amazing Boxes and Christina Katerina and the Box. Maybe they will inspire your sons.

IMO it all sounds good. Kids NEED downtime, especially during the week because weekends are usually hectic. Don't know if you have dogs but when mine were that age I paid them to teach the dogs tricks. I had gotten a simple book from the library so they could learn how and that worked great. Perhaps there are other "special projects" where they could work for some money?

We spent a lot od time at the neighbourhood/school playground after school. There were always other kids playing there after school. We always had a membership at the YMCA, so they went for swim lessons as well as drop in activities (sports, gymnastics, arts and crafts) or just to play on the play structure, climbing wall or bouncer. We also went to the library once a week.

It sounds like you live in a warm climate, can you take them to a park or let them ride their bikes? That's what we used to do when we were kids before all the overscheduling.

I pick my kids (1st and 3rd grade) up at 3:40 and we are usually home by 4:00. They get a little iPad time--sometimes games, sometimes a Netflix video, some times Wonderbox (a really cool app!). They also spend at least 30 minutes reading (part of their homework) and any other homework they have. They like to watch how-to videos and life hack videos (most from the Wonderbox app) and then they spend a lot of time creating art, doing science experiments, and doing life hacks (most recently making lotion and hand sanitizer one use portions with straws; making chocolate bowls with balloons and melted chocolate; making melted crayon art with old crayons, paper, and a blow dryer). I'm constantly cleaning up projects, but I don't mind too much because they are keeping busy. We also play games (board games and some wacky game they created with Dad that involves the toddler sized basketball hoop that I would really like to get rid of). They also do a lot of imaginary play still. When it is warm (or at least above 0) they play outside a lot. Probably 85% of the time they are entertaining themselves.

I recently saw a quote that said something about boredom teaching kids how to be creative. Give them a box of odds and ends or a science kit and challenge them to create something new or explore something new.

Do they offer spring soccer where you live? It's probably too late to sign up for this year if they do, but it's something to keep in mind for next year if they still enjoy soccer.

A lot of kids in our community take classes once a week or so after school. We have great offerings for things like art, computer programming, minecraft, Lego engineering, foreign languages, and so much more). Do you have a local community center, YMCA, art studio, or STEM center that offers any extracurriculars?

My kids usually spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes playing together at home after school. We try to have a play date once a week, sometimes for both of them and sometimes for just one. I know you said a lot of kids go to after school care - could you work something out with any of the parents where you take the child home with you after school one day instead? Our school's day care center will allow this if it is pre-arranged with the child's parent.

Other options include going to the park, riding bikes/scooters, playing outside with a ball, etc.

I walk the dog while kids ride bikes, skateboard, scooter or rollerblade beside me. We do this a LOT. My older child and I like to play badminton in the backyard together. He's really into it. The younger child is just to young to do it yet. Once a week we stop at the library after school. They both take piano lessons one afternoon a week. One kid has swim class once a week. The other has ice skating class once a week. This spring soccer will start. One of my kids begs to do basketball. I love to do crafts so we often have some kind of new craft/art project to work on around here. Maybe this late spring or summer there will be time. I find that friends who are in the after school program still like to do playdates sometimes. I pick them up and bring them home with us and their parent picks them up when they are home from work. It's a nice change for them. Kids have been complaining about being bored since forever! I tell my kids if they are bored they can do a chore or read a book. Not that that works, but I say it anyway!

Regarding play dates - they do not have to be with the neighbor kids. Have your sons start doing play dates with kids they know from school with whom they're friendly but who don't necessarily live in the neighborhood. This helps them cement friendships at school and expands their circle beyond kids who just happen to live nearby. Playdates with school friends do require more logistics and pick-ups and drop-offs etc. but it's worth it.

Also, the word "bored" got banned at our house. They need to learn to occupy themselves and don't hesitate to tell them so, especially the older one. Learning to be OK with one's own company but without other kids (or heaps of video games) is important. Have you gone through their books and toys lately to see if their stuff is age-appropriate? Sometimes kids outgrow things before we realize it and they're bored because their toys, games or books are just too "young" or too familiar. Maybe spend some time going through things they would like to donate, and then hitting the library and thrift stores?

If they are bored at home, by the way, take them to the library and have them pick books to look at right there. My kid loved just hanging out there---it was a change from home.

Let them play. Alone or together, inside or outside, with friends or without. It is absolutely imperative that people have downtime and not be over scheduled.
Additionally, being bored is good for you! Creativity & self-reliance comes with not having someone else or something else (i.e. tablet, tv, computer) to constantly entertain you.
We homeschool & keep our evenings pretty open to ensure the kids get plenty of time with my husband so our kids have HOURS of free time each day. They have toys, they have each other, they have outside, there are craft supplies, books, things to build with, and their imaginations. If they come to me with the "I'm bored" whine there is a whole new list of chores that can be dealt with :-)
Sidenote: Excellent books can spark hours of imaginative play. Think a chapter of one of the Chronicles of Narnia each day brought to life = vanquishing evil on a daily basis!