Whole Family, Members of a Family, intern or American Koadrilla
The principle in all activities is to keep English as the spoken language. For that reason, there always must be Americans at any activity. These native English speakers are willing to interject themselves into a Basque, Spanish, French speaking circle to encourage English. It is out of respect and relationship that the kids will switch languages.
Sometimes activities are whole family activities. As such, they need to be highly structured to include from the oldest to the youngest and to keep the family together as a unit. Examples of this are the Welcome Dinner and the Basque Dinner. Whole family activities are an important part of the summer experience but take a lot of thought.
Sometimes an activity is not appropriate for the whole family. In that case, we always include those parts of the family who can participate. An example would be a trip to Seattle; we believe a trip like this would be appropriate for all kids in a family who could do extensive walking. Another example might be a slumber party – any same sex teens from the family should be made welcome. If an activity is appropriate for a member of a family, that member should come knowing people want them to feel a part of what is happening.
Sometimes an activity is more appropriate for just teens and not all families have teens. In this case, we include the Intern or American Koadrilla (see American koadrilla) who are at all activities but in this type of activity they take a leading role. Examples of this would be a trip to a Drive-In? movie; late night bowling or a game night in someone’s home.