Welcome our new Buddy,

Moss Curtis Spence!

Born January 19th, 2022

We are Jeff and Melissa Spence, the creators of Clue Buddy Crew! We live in beautiful central Arkansas with our newborn son Moss, and our Yorkie Pomeranian, Bizzy. Jeff has 25 years of experience in illustration and graphic design, and I have six years in marketing and nine years teaching elementary school.

We have combined our creative and business experience and found a way to market information to early readers and learners.

Clue Buddy Crew was created out of a need to help my first-grade students easily access and recall information they had already been taught so we could quickly build and expand on that knowledge.

Teaching my students the “H Brothers” (digraphs) was a turning point in my teaching style. Students were having to remember a complex rhyme/story, all while learning new and difficult phonetic skills.

The rhyme that went with the “H Brothers” assumed so much about what first graders already know I was explaining a rhyme that is supposed to be so obvious it will help them remember digraphs!

I came home and talked to Jeff about the problem I was seeing. We began brainstorming and working on ways to present the information. I had to put myself in the shoes of a first grader! Young learners need visual clues and shouldn’t have to navigate a lot of written text when learning how to read. Information should be memorable and comfortable for students to access and recall. A shared discovery experience to make a significant impact.

This new perspective paved the way for our system of visual-based cartoon characters called Clue Buddy Crew! Clue Buddies have new learners in mind. They are fun, outlandish, and silly, with visual clues wrapped into each Buddy’s name and appearance. My students look forward to weekly “Buddy Time” where meet a new Buddy and start using the sound or concept the Buddy represents.

Once we learn the new concept with the Buddy Posters, students collect Buddy cards on their own personal binder rings. We build words and discuss new vocabulary with the cards. All levels of learners are engaged as we talk about new concepts, spelling patterns, and practicing oral reading fluency. The learning happens without being bogged down by wordy charts and written instructions. The greatest result? They work on sounds and words on their own, with cards they have earned and collected!

Meeting a character and discovering what the character does, anchors the phonics principle. The abstract concept now has a face and a name! The visual clues and silly characters helped me better reach my students where they are. No matter the students’ ability level or background experiences, students are engaged, curious, look forward to meeting new Buddies and using new phonics skills.

I was named 2019-2020 Teacher of the year at my Elementary school, was named 2019-2020 District Teacher of the Year, and honored to be listed among the top four for 2020 Arkansas State Teacher of the Year. Clue Buddy Crew has been a game-changer in my classroom.

We are so excited to make these resources available to you and your little learners!

Love and Life-Long Learning!

Melissa & Jeff Spence