Mrs. Autumn McKay

Autumn has a degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught in the classroom and as an online teacher. She has been certified to teach in California, Colorado, Arizona, and Georgia. However, one of Autumn's greatest joys (and challenges) is being a mom! After her first son was born, she wanted to be involved in helping him learn and grow, so she began to develop color lessons to help engage his developing mind. Autumn also wanted to help other moms dealing with hectic schedules and continuous time restraints. As a result, these activities evolved into her first book, Toddler Lesson Plans: Learning Colors. She has continued to create books for preschoolers, which include: The Ultimate 1 Year Old Activity Book Toddler Lesson Plans: Learning ABC’s The Ultimate Toddler Activity Guide The Ultimate Kindergarten Prep Guide Learning Numbers Workbook Learning ABC’s Workbook: Print and Precursive Learning Preschool Math Workbook Learning Kindergarten Math Workbook Learning 1st Grade Math Workbook The Ultimate Teach Your Child to Read Activity Book: Prereading The Ultimate Teach Your Child to Read Activity Book: Beginning Reader The Ultimate Teach Your Child to Read Activity Book: Developing Reader Motherhood has many joys and challenges, and sometimes that can lead to feeling burned out. So to combat that feeling, Autumn began to practice gratitude through journaling. She found this beneficial to her relationship with her husband and children—she was happier, more patient, less stressed, calmer, and more optimistic. Autumn created The Full Life Gratitude Journal for Moms so other moms could have a full life that is more grateful, mindful, and joyful. Autumn has a passion for helping moms be able to educate their children in a fun, low-prep way that she shares on BestMomIdeas.com. AUTHOR INTERVIEW What’s the hardest part about writing a book? Oh that’s easy! Sitting down and having a moment to think. Life can seem really hectic with our 3 young kids so finding a block of time to work and concentrate can be hard. I have had to become an early bird and get up at 4:30am so that I have a few hours to work in the morning before the kids get up. My husband has even had to take off work a few times to watch the kids so I would have a full day to work if I got behind. There’s also the “mom guilt” that comes with taking time away from my 3 blessings to focus on my writing. What do you do when you aren’t writing or planning books? I love to spend time with my children and family! We enjoy being silly or just “vrooming” cars around on the floor. I enjoy working out throughout the week—just work out videos or yoga in the living room (My kids like to join in, or giggle at my silly moves). I also love spending time with my husband too! We are determined to get better at going on dates, and are starting to make sure we get at least one date a month. When did you realize you wanted to be an author? If I’m honest, it never even crossed my mind. But my husband saw that I was putting in a lot of effort--researching and organizing--what I wanted to help my children learn each week, so he suggested I write a book with all of the fun activities to help other moms who want to teach their children but don't have the time to plan the activities. Are lesson plans too serious for toddlers? I am a former teacher, so the term “lesson plans” was used a lot throughout my teaching career. I became comfortable with that term, and didn’t consider that to some it might sound very serious. However, “lesson plans” is just a fancy, teacher word for guide. This book is just a guide for parents to do fun activities with their children. Parents can pick and choose what activities to do, what order to do the activities, and the appropriate time to do the activities. What is a parenting topic that you are passionate about? My husband and I are both very passionate about limiting screen time. We are not anti-technology, but we have read many articles about the negative side effects of tablet/iphone games and screens on young minds. We would rather our children run around the house, play a game, build a new invention, read a book, or cook with us in the kitchen.