Play Dates

Benjamin continues to have friends over after school.  He normally bikes home with the kids who bike to school (Clayton, Leopold, Zeke) or walks home with the friends who live a bit further away and take a public bus to school.
Lukas is a friend he had in class last year and they have remained friends this year even though they are not in the same class any longer.  Lukas is a cool kid.  He has 3 brothers (2 older and one younger) Lukas walks home with us, Benjamin riding along slowly on his bike.  The two get along super well.  They can go from playing (their beloved 30 minutes) of Minecraft to lying on the floor discussing their strategy and houses and tools in their Minecraft worlds to punching each other and wrestling to plopping on the bed while each reads their own book.  They really need little to no direction or interference by me. 

Then I walk Lukas to the bus stop and he hops on happily and confidently and rides it clear across town by himself.  The level of independence that this city gives kids at such young ages is really awe-inspiring and impresses me nearly every day.