United States
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We're a family trying to live more communally so our kids can be 'citizens of the world.'
Our household is made up of our family of 5 (our kids are ages 5, 6, and 6) and, generally, 2-3 workaway guests.
The best way to think about living with us is to consider yourself part of the "village/community" that surrounds us. You'll want to be sure you are into children and have an inclination to teach and be around them. However, guests are not responsible for 'parenting' the kids and we are not looking for "au pairs."
Our guests primarily help us with logistics (especially food prep and clean up) and they are welcome but not required to help with various special projects they are interested in (for example building a solar heater for the pool, educational research, a yurt build) and if they have the experience and maturity, and interest, tutoring before school. We use some very good curriculums and many guests have learned how to teach reading and math.
After logistics are covered, sharing your passions with the kids is welcome (eg. chess, improv, dance, making music, teaching, educational games) and if spending time with them feels natural and flows well, that is of course an option.
We have just moved to the quintessential Hawaiian beach town of Kailua, 30 minutes drive/bus from Honolulu. It is a beautiful area with access to the city by public transportation that is 4 minutes from our house.
We have spent four of the last 6 years abroad - 2.5 in Thailand, and 1.5 in Madrid Spain, where we hosted many guests for generally 1-3 months at a time in a large house we converted to 5 smaller units.
We now live in a 4 bedroom rental house with some land for a real garden (though not yet started), some slack lines, a trampoline and soon, a yurt. We keep 1 or2 of the bedrooms, and the yurt, open for guests with stays a minimum of three weeks though averaging a month or two.
All adults in the house rotate cooking to fill a weekly calendar by signing up to be in charge of set up and clean up of breakfast, dinner, and, when there is no school, lunch. We try to cook 3 times a week on MWF and stock the fridge with prepared food that can easily be reheated for meals.
On normal days, the schedule looks like this:
- 6:45am - Breakfast (Saturday and Sunday is a 7:15 breakfast)
- 7:15am - Homework - Assist, as needed, one child with 30-45 minutes of homework (math, reading, writing, etc)
- 5:30pm - Dinner
- Kids go into the bedroom at 6:30pm, freeing up the common areas of the house for the adults.
Other responsibilities fall into the category of 'Special Projects.' Past examples include:
- Gardening
- Built yurt floor
- Insulate yurt
- Compare Costco food prices with other options
- Misc handyman projects
- Make a food prep guide
- Determine best way to buy staple foods inexpensively and with the least packaging
- Guest shares passion with after school projects (teach Rubik's cube, music, singing, basketball, improv, piano)
If this sounds like something you'd like, please tell us more about yourself.
All the best!
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Charity work
Language practice
Art project
Help with Computers / internet
Teaching
We're unusual in that we feel so strongly about living in a more communal way. In our last homes in Madrid, and near San Francisco, we regularly had 3-5 people eating meals with us every day - with 5 languages between us. Here, the kitchen table seats 7 or 8. Our family is a mix of Irish American and Northern Thai.
We look for interesting people and think it important to fit the tasks to the person and their skills. We try to have two or three people living with us at all times, which we've found is also enjoyable for the guests. We have a wide range of tasks you can help with - including:
1) Lead food preparation and cooking. Beyond the cooking and serving rotation we do among all the adults, you can take extra shirts in the kitchen.
2) Lead/Teach after school programs - on a topic you'd like to share or teach. Music, Art, Dance, Math, etc.
3) Help with morning (before lunch) homeschooling - we have good curriculums in reading, math, writing,,etc.
4) Help lead consistent sports or physical skill-practices like basketball, soccer, surfing, etc.
We are most appreciative of people who naturally love to lead and teach.
English, Thai, Spanish,
It really depends on who is staying with us at the time, with a first come first choice policy. Most people stay in either of our two guest rooms, both with big windows, though the living room sometimes has a guest extending their stay. We now have a yurt as well. We're considering parking a nice camper/caravan/tiny house next to the house.
You will be in what some consider the best town in Hawaii, with one of the best beaches on the planet. Google Kailua. We're a 120 second bike ride to the Kailua Beach Park.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
Max of 5 hours a day and 5 days a week.
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