The Monkey Buddies name was never supposed to become all of this.
It began with children’s coloring books and a cute alphabet book, as well as a few drawing tutorials. I was creating the kind of creative projects that made sense under a name like Monkey Buddies. It was playful and quirky. It was also the name I used for my local summer Fun Friday Camps. It gave me somewhere to put the ideas, and more than thirty books later, it became a real and established part of my work.
But then the work kept growing and evolving. I have never been one to do things minimally. I started dabbling in curriculum ideas, learning materials, tutoring resources and STEM activities. Always a friend to home school families, I saw a need for other supports. Transition guides, and tools based on what children, parents, and teachers need became a natural progression. Then I opened a Teachers Pay Teachers store, which was both exciting and something I had pushed back on because there were already so many resources out there and would anyone want mine? As soon as I did it, I started asking myself why I didn’t do it sooner.
So, Brain Maker, The Learning Lab, and The Creative Corner were born.
That does not mean I have abandoned Monkey Buddies. In fact I just published a children’s book under the name. My first book I have published outside of Amazon and one I hope will receive some distribution.
So, this is not really a rebrand in the dramatic, burn-it-all-down sense. Nothing is being erased and the website is still chrissidennis.com. The books and ideas are still mine.
Monkey Buddies will remain the home of my published children’s books and coloring books. More than thirty books live under that name, and I am not pretending those five years of work did not happen just because I’ve branched out in a different direction.
Chrissi Dennis Learning Lab will become the home for curriculum, teacher-created learning materials, Teachers Pay Teachers resources, tutoring materials, and practical support for homeschoolers, families and educators. This is where classroom experience meets the slightly ridiculous number of ideas living in my head. Some resources will carry the Brain Maker badge, especially the logic, math, mystery, history, and critical-thinking projects designed directly for kids.
Then there is Chrissi Dennis Creative Corner. It is not fully open yet, but simmering on a back burner. Eventually, it will hold the drawing books, how-to projects, kids’ art ideas, ACEO trading-card fun, backpack charms, and other creative rabbit holes I cannot seem to stop stepping in. For now, it gets a simple coming-next-summer sign while I build the Learning Lab properly.
The biggest change is that Christina Dennis becomes the name holding all of it together.
That part feels vulnerable to me. I have not completely put my name out there. Monkey Buddies was also a great place to hide. Putting my own name at the top means admitting that this work reflects what I know, what I value, and what I have spent nearly fifteen years learning as an educator. It means allowing myself to be visible. Yikes!
I wish I could say this was all part of a brilliant five-year business plan. It was not. Monkey Buddies grew because I grew. This next inception needs enough room for the teacher, the writer, the curriculum creator, the tutor, and the person who has recently begun to dream of opening a microschool.
So, welcome to the next chapter. If you would like, you are welcome to watch me write it.
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