Cohousing-L Mailing List: Daytime use of the Common House

[John Major (themajors]

Hi, good folks -

We have an interesting issue - a fine family just joined us, as we get
ready to break ground in a few months. They asked for extensive
customization of their unit, based on their needs for home schooling,
and the space that this would require (our units are admittedly pretty
small). They said that they did not want to presume to be able to take
over the Common House from 9 to 5 every weekday, and my response was "I
understand that for most groups it's pretty empty during the weekday,
and that's what it should be all about, right?" Now, my fellow members
will probably not all agree with this, and I want to touch on our
collective wisdom here, so, some questions to consider:

- Is your CH mostly empty during the day? When do the cooks start
showing up?

- Are any of you home-schooling in the CH? This seems to be a beautiful
realization of what a CH should be about - but what is your experience?

- Have any of you had a situation where one or two households use "more
than their share" of the CH? How did you deal with this? 

- If this family agrees not to expand their unit as much as they'd like
(leaving more open space), they of course will need a committment from
the group that they will be able to use the CH for home-schooling. Have
you had any experience with a committment like this?

Go to it, friends! Thanks in advance for the advice -

John Major
Wasatch Cohousing
>> Where, after hiring a pro to help us with PR, fixing up our intro process, 
>> and putting our shoulders to the wheel, we have seen a real influx of new 
>> and excited households - we all grip our paddles firmly, turning into the 
>> Development White Water Rapids!