Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Me, The Center of the Universe

Meet Me. Me is the center of the universe.
Me believes the world revolves around his needs, wants, and emotions.
Sound like anyone you know?
I think we all know a Me.
Goodness, some of us may even be a Me!

As an early childhood educator, I have encountered many MEs in my classroom, which is developmentally appropriate for young preschoolers. Most young children socially develop and learn to share, care, and think of others. Every once in a while, I will encounter a child who cannot seem to see outside of their own universe. They are so focused on self that they have difficulty making friends and progressing in their social skills. This usually happens when parents have made their home child centered, meaning the child is the captain of the ship at home. When parents don't partner with teachers to teach their children humility, we see little to no progress in this area by the end of the school year. If these children do not learn to see outside their own small universe they will never see the big, beautiful world around them.

As we observe what is happening on our college campuses, we see the result of raising a generation of MEs. These young people are so used to being the center of the universe that when they encounter challenges, differences of opinion, and the real world they collapse in screaming fits and need safe spaces. As parents of "Mes" we have done them a disservice. By having them grow up thinking the world revolves around them, we are setting them up for disappointment, depression, anxiety, and failure.

One day in my class, a vision of this story came to me. I could see in my mind's eye a little astronaut trapped in a very small universe. I saw in my imagination his world getting bigger and bigger as his eyes opened to the people around him. My friend and gifted illustrator, Deborah Delaney, brought this story to life with her amazing artwork.

My hope and prayer for this book is that parents and teachers can use this cute children's book to expand their children's universe. Children will laugh at this little astronaut's antics while learning a valuable lesson on humility and kindness. Children are such a blessing from the LORD and they deserve for us to teach them how to look beyond themselves. When we have eyes to see others and have compassion, empathy, and humility, we become all that God intended for us to be.

This book will make a wonderful resource for a teacher's classroom. I know I plan to use it frequently in mine! The book is now available on Amazon.

God bless,
Yolanda

Check out our book trailer and reading:
https://youtu.be/LivAqiB8G4Y



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