The “Monkey Mind Tales® Educator and Counselor Discussion Guide” was created to help teachers, counselors, parents, and caregivers turn each story in the series into a meaningful conversation—one that meets children where they are and gives adults the tools to go deeper.
The guide covers all four books in the Monkey Mind Tales® Anthology Series, providing a complete discussion and activity framework for all twenty-four stories.
For Each Story You Will Find:
Social-Emotional Learning Alignment: CASEL-aligned competencies addressed by each story
Core Theme: The central message and meaning of the story
SEL Focus: Key social-emotional skills explored
For Little Monkeys: Whimsical questions for grades three and four
For Curious Monkeys: Deeper discussion prompts for young readers
For the Grown-Up Monkey: Reflective questions for parents, educators, and counselors
Classroom Activities: Forty-eight engaging, experiential learning activities, two per story, most of which can be used independently of the story itself (seven of which are evidence-based mindfulness activities developed in collaboration with equine therapist and meditation instructor Mark LoPalo, requiring no prior meditation experience).
Journal Prompts: Reflective writing exercises for both children and adults
Counseling Prompts: Evidence-informed therapeutic applications with a named therapeutic focus and primary goal, designed for licensed counselors and therapists working in individual or group settings
Meditation Exercises: Seven evidence-based mindfulness activities developed in collaboration with equine therapist and meditation instructor Mark LoPalo, requiring no prior meditation experience
Clinical Format & Content
The guide draws from multiple clinical frameworks including cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems, narrative therapy, attachment theory, acceptance and commitment therapy, gestalt psychology, nutritional psychiatry, and more. Across all twenty-four stories, the guide includes 312 discussion questions spanning three levels of engagement, forty-eight classroom activities (seven of which introduce meditation exercises requiring no prior experience), twenty-four journal prompts, and twenty-four counseling prompts. All of this is presented in a way that gives each story a strong clinical foundation while remaining accessible to educators without a clinical background.
Free On-Line Download Or Purchased Printed Copy
We realize that teachers’ finances are as important as their time, so we wanted to offer a PDF format of our first edition for free. Just click the link below and the download process will start. You can also order a printed, paperback version of the guide for writing notes on, or to support our next edition. To purchase a printed copy of the book, click o the link below or go to the SHOP tab at the top of the page.
LINKS COMING SOON
First Edition
This is a first edition. If you use the guide in your classroom, counseling practice, or therapeutic setting, your feedback is genuinely welcome and will help shape future editions. To leave comments about the guide visit:
