They do not have direct access to a soccer field so it made for running a soccer program there fairly tricky, but we found a way. Yes, we set the league up in their parking lot. Every week we reserve the lot and the staff of Kid Works park their cars along the street while the kids play on black top. We have slips and spills, but the kids bounce back up and run around having fun with a ball at their feet.

A couple of weeks ago we started talking about respect, something I feel not talked about nearly enough. I asked what it meant to show someone respect, who we should show respect too, and where respect should start.The lack of answers the children could muster amazed me. Most knew they should respect their elders, but no one thought about respecting self or peers. Not one gave an answer to what respect means. How can this be?

During the following weeks we talked more about respect and slowly uncovered the following…

Self respect is where it all starts, from here we can start respecting others, we do this by listening when others are talking, helping others when they are in need, being honest, showing kindness, not using bad language, and being polite.

We broke the self-respect into 4 different categories and here is what we came up with for each of those.

Physically – We don’t eat bad food and play soccer as much as possible.
Mentally – We try our best at school and make sure we are always learning.
Emotionally – We are not afraid to show our emotions (even when that is sadness).

Spiritually – We want a relationship with God and listen to what he tells us.

All this came from the mouths of the children at Kid Works. Yes, it took some prompting, but when we got them thinking they came up with the goods. It was great watching the kids try to come up with their own ideas on something they don’t hear about often. When you guide and steer children they will amaze you! What do you think? Does anything mentioned above sound like something you could carry out in your own life?