Abigail’s First Club

Abigail arrives at the Saturday making club with Dad. She likes building things at home, but this room is new. Several children are already working. The scissors, paper and cardboard are spread across three tables.

Mrs Bell welcomes her and shows her where Dad can sit. Abigail stays beside him. She is not ready to choose a table. Her hands stay tucked in her cardigan pockets while she watches a cardboard car roll across the floor.

“You can watch first,” Mrs Bell says. She shows Abigail a quiet place at the end of a table. Dad can stay nearby. Abigail asks if she may look at a finished car before she touches the materials.

Felix brings his car over and points to its broad wheels. One wheel catches on the side. Abigail notices a bent piece of card. “That might rub,” she says. Felix turns the car so they can both see.

Mrs Bell offers a small piece of card for Abigail to test. She tries it beside the wheel without fixing it down. Dad stays in the same chair. Abigail has begun with one small job, rather than making a whole car at once.

By the end, Abigail feels interested in coming again. She has not spoken to everyone, and she does not need to. Next week the room will be a little more familiar, with Mrs Bell, Dad’s chair and a car that needed her idea.