Activity 4-1:
Communication Quilt

Purpose: Participants will analyze their program's overall communication patterns by creating a visual representation in the form of a quilt.

Materials
Four-inch squares of construction paper in three colors (enough for at least 2-4 squares in each color per participant), chart paper, markers, tape. If you will be doing the optional extension to the workshop, you will need squares in three additional colors.

Process
Previous activities have examined how individuals interact or communicate with each other. This activity focuses on communication patterns at a program level. These questions will be considered: What are the types of messages that are conveyed within this Head Start program? Who are the intended receivers of these messages? What are the different ways that messages are sent?

Explain to participants that in this activity, they will have an opportunity to create a visual representation of their communication practices in the form of a communication quilt. This is a way of taking an inventory of current practices in order to identify what is working and what areas might need improvement or change.

Distribute the colored squares to participants. Give them instructions for each color of square, as follows:

1. For the first color: Write words or draw pictures that depict the messages that Head Start would like to send to every parent. For example: parents are their child's first teacher; Head Start supports the family's own agenda.
2. For the second color: Write words or draw pictures that depict characteristics of the parents who are the intended receivers of Head Start messages. For example: teen parents, fathers, working parents with little time, or families whose primary language is Spanish.
3. For the third color: Write words or draw pictures that depict the strategies used to convey messages. For example: body language, newsletters, home visits, modeling.

To demonstrate the instructions, you may wish to prepare a few quilt pieces in front of the group, using words or pictures that participants suggest. Allow 5 - 10 minutes for participants to complete this task. Participants may wish to work alone or in small groups.

Place several pieces of chart paper together on the wall. Have participants tape the quilt blocks in random order on the chart paper. When the quilt blocks have been taped up, suggest that participants take a few minutes to review the quilt and the ideas represented on the different squares of colored paper.

Debriefing
Once participants have had an opportunity to review the finished quilt, lead them in a discussion using the following questions:

• What impressions do you have about the type of messages that the program conveys?
• What impressions do you have about the range of characteristics that parents have?
• What impressions do you have about the range of strategies used to convey messages?

If through this discussion participants think of other messages, parent characteristics or communication strategies, write them on appropriately colored quilt blocks and add those squares to the quilt.

Optional Extension
Hold up in front of the group the squares you have prepared in three additional colors. Note that these squares represent additional elements to Head Start communication that make it a two-way process:

• Messages parents send to staff (Color #4)
• Staff characteristics (Color #5)
• Strategies parents use to convey messages (Color #6)

Tape the blank squares, in alternating colors, around the border of the communication quilt. Have participants suggest words or pictures that describe "messages parents send to staff" and write their suggestions on the appropriately colored squares. Fill in the other squares in the same manner for "staff characteristics" and "strategies parents use to convey messages.

Ask these questions:

• How are some of the messages that parents send to staff similar to or different from the messages staff send to parents?
• How are staff characteristics similar to or different from parents?
• How are the strategies that parents use to communicate to staff the same as or different from the ones staff use to communicate to parents?

If Activity 4-1 is being followed by Activity 4-4, leave the quilt on the wall so participants can refer to it.

Module4| Activity 4-2

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