Field Trip: Njiani

Our little homeschool co-op is planning one formal field trip per month (one cool thing about homeschooling is that you get field trips as often as you want!) and this week we went to a local furniture designer's shop to see what she does and try our hands at designing.

After a tour of her shop, which included talking about furniture function and materials, we went outside and the kids got to draw their dream furniture. Ruby drew a very ornate throne (above) and Henry drew a series of tables and what looked to me like a wine rack. He said he couldn't tell me what it was because it was a secret.

He is a mysterious little person.

After drawing their furniture, they were given some clay and sculpted their furniture. This is Ariana's drawing and model of a gorgeous room divider Catherine has in her shop right now. The original piece is made of wood and handmade lace.

Then, just for good measure, the kids each got a wooden soap holder to sand, varnish and paint if they wanted to. Ruby got one made from coconut wood:

After a brief clean-up, we all enjoyed lunch at Njiani, prepared by Catherine herself. The kids also enjoyed playing in the large garden there. We look forward to seeing how it develops as play areas are added!

Note: As of October 1, Njiani is open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.