Cartoon monkey holding a lightbulb, with the words "Monkey Minds" in large text.

Where Play Meets Purpose

Unlocking Social/Emotional Leaning Through Play to make you and your team stronger

Our “Why”

At the heart of everything we do is our “why.”

We believe so deeply in our purpose that we place it front and center. It guides who we are, what we do, and how we can add to your life worth living.

To teach and support children, parents, and families (through direct instruction, guided practice, and in the moment coaching) how to grow their skills to be mentally balanced, physically fit, and socially flexible, so that they can feel knowledgeable, strong, and resilient as a part of a growing community with a shared purpose of inclusion and participation in helping each other - all with an emphasis on play and exploration through games and activities!

Explore our services

A group of diverse women and men in orange and blue sports uniforms huddling together, smiling and smiling on a sports field during daytime.

Team Building

Whether you are a school, corporation, or sports team, communication and fluidity of action are key components to reacting to change and accepting complications. We work to develop a strong "why-based" foundation for your team and then offer skills training to augment that message. Once you have a common purpose, the goal is to keep it visible and to use your growing library of skills to take you higher.

Group of eight diverse smiling people in an office or classroom setting.

Teacher Motivation

Motivating educators begins with recognizing their impact and valuing their voice. When educators feel seen, supported, and empowered, their passion thrives and their dedication deepens. We offer opportunities to collaborate with staff to meet your team where they are rather than feeding them, what can feel like, forced professional development. We steer away from blaming burnout or societal factors and lean into finding individual's and team's "why statements" to re-ignite purpose and innovation.

A young woman and a small child playing with a toy at a table indoors, smiling and enjoying the moment.

Parent Training

We believe in universal language and using skills everywhere, everyday, to build strong habits and help people live their life worth living. By offering our skills training to parent groups we hope to bring skillful living home so that your family can feel more successful and that this success translates to wherever you go.

A diverse group of children gathered around a table in a classroom, excitedly playing a board game and laughing together.

Social Emotional Learning

We believe strongly that social-emotional learning doesn't just happen through reading or presentations. It is - an everyday, all day, part of your day - process. We start by introducing universal language and strategies, then providing regular opportunities to practice those techniques. Our sessions can be limited to individual staff members, the classroom, or involve concentric circles of influence that include school staff and parents.

A diverse group of people in a bright, cheerful conference room with large windows, sitting and standing around a yellow table with papers and charts, smiling and engaging in a team discussion or presentation.

Teacher Training

Teachers need tools to not only impact their students and help set classroom routines, but also structures and strategies to help themselves. We access proven techniques from research-based programs and help teachers bring those tools into their rooms, so that they are accessed and employed and not simply filed away. Teaching is a dynamic process, which demands tools that are used to discover potential and not only potentially used.

Illustration of diverse women engaging in healthy activities like eating vegetables, meditating, working on a laptop, and gardening, amid plants, flowers, and food items.

Personal Consultation

Living a life worth living starts with you and a commitment to wanting to be your best self. We offer skills training, opportunities to practice, and in-the-moment coaching to help you reach personal objectives and identify where your next goals can send you.

Smiling children in a classroom raising their hands excitedly, with desks, a chalkboard, colorful decorations, and large windows letting in sunlight.

Classroom Brain-breaks

Want ideas for activities to help your students recharge during the day? Looking for ways to grow your morning meeting or closing circle into a memorable part of the day for everyone? Mindfulness activities, energizers, exploration opportunities? We have a few...well a lot...of ideas.

A group of six diverse young adults sitting at a long table outdoors, smiling and looking attentively to the right, during daytime.

Camp Staff Training

Camp staffs have a challenging job. Build connections and rapport with campers quickly, help them manage their emotion reactions and behaviors while outside the parameters of a traditional classroom, all while trying to stay connected to the experience offered by the camp. We offer training to help prepare your staff for how to make connections quickly and engage with campers proactively to increase enjoyment at camp and limit time away from the unique experiences camp can offer.

A woman giving a presentation to a group of children and adults in a gymnasium, with a projector screen displaying a colorful game called "Peesm Games."

Parent\Teacher Collaboration

Your school's PTA is a wonderful opportunity to establish, or build on, your school's culture. We often hear, we don't know what speakers or activities to bring in. Not only can we design sessions for during or after school presentations, but we can help construct lasting school initiatives that incorporate connection, support for one another, positive modeling, and chances to strengthen your community.

A colorful illustration of a person with short hair and a calm expression surrounded by interconnected nodes and lines, symbolizing a neural network or brain activity.

Habit Formation

Strong habits build strong results. You don't need to be superhuman to create amazing outcomes. Everyday success starts with understanding good habits, how to start them, and how to develop them into your day naturally.

Children wearing colorful party hats celebrating around a birthday cake with candles, surrounded by balloons and decorations.

Birthday Parties

You read that correctly. Birthday Parties. At the core of our mission is a dedication to play as an exploration method or as an instructional strategy. We humans love to play. Our games and activities are designed to create structured, engaging fun that leaves kids saying, “That was the best party ever!” We hope to bring skillful living home so that your family can feel more successful and that this success translates to wherever you go.

Interested in collaborating?

Don’t hesitate! Reach out! We’d love the opportunity to talk to you, and design a way that we can support you or your team where you are.

Two men holding a notebook with a list of topics titled 'Monkey Minds TBD' and checkboxes for 'Teambuilding,' 'Emotion Regulation,' 'Mindfulness,' and 'Better Together,' outdoors with trees in the background.

Get to
know us

Monkey Minds is the collaboration between Bryan Donnelly, a fifth grade teacher in Redding Connecticut, and Jeff Lovelace, a school psychologist and BCBA in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

The term “Monkey Mind” has been around for thousands of years to describe how our minds can jump from the past to multiple futures all while rarely, or not at all, stopping in the present moment. When our thoughts jump around like a monkey, we are often unsettled.

Our core goal has been to bring mindful awareness to this phenomenon, and teach strategies to help manage your monkey mind, all while staying playful and exploring the wide world around you!

Two men sitting at a wooden table in front of a large window with greenery outside, smiling at the camera.

Follow us on Instagram!

Play, Practice, Prosper

Videos and more at Monkeyminds_sel @Instagram

Two children playing a game in a grassy park, with text overlay promoting a game called "Slap 21 and Win" which is described as a "Fun Brain Break" and an "Instant Activity" that can be played "Anywhere."
A motivational graphic displaying the word "TRUST" with the subtitle "the core of teamwork" and five colored ovals with words: Time, Reliability, Understand, Storylines, and Take a step.
A young girl shopping for vegetables at a grocery store, selecting cucumbers from a display of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and banana squash.
A man in sunglasses and a blue t-shirt sitting at the base of a large tree with green leaves, with a positive quote about breaking bad habits overlayed at the top of the image.

Resources - Recommendations - Motivations

We’re constant learners, too!

See what some of our favorite resources are, where our motivation comes from, and even what we’re reading/listening to right now!

A man with glasses and a navy blue T-shirt sitting on a blue outdoor cushion chair, smiling while reading a book titled "The Growth Mindset Coach" on a porch surrounded by lush green foliage.

Find out what we’re reading!

A man with a beard and short hair, wearing headphones and a navy blue t-shirt, is looking down at his smartphone while leaning on a table outdoors, with a stack of books beside him.

Find out what we’re listening to!

A man and two young girls are sitting together reading a large colorful book with cherry blossom and panda illustrations.

Find out what we’re reading to our kids!