Welcome to the Music for Minors II Docent Training Program!
Welcome new volunteers! Come join us in creating magic in children's lives. This page contains everything you need to know about becoming a Music for Minors II Docent. We're always looking for new music docents so that we might reach more children. Please contact us if you have any questions about becoming a docent.
- Who Can Become a MFMII Docent?
- How are MFMII Docents Trained?
- What is the Training Schedule?
- Can I Get the Training Flyer?
- What Support do Docents Receive?
- How Do I Get More Information?
Who Can Become a MFMII Docent?
Current volunteers include parents and grandparents of students, college students, classroom teachers, retired teachers, seniors, musicians and community members-at-large. Some volunteers come to us with no formal music training; others may have masters degrees or other music credentials. Volunteers who apply for training go through a screening process to determine their musical ability and experience in working with children. The main requirement for a volunteer is to love music and children, believe in the MFMII mission and be able to take the annual fall MFMII training program.
MFMII Docent Training - FREE, shortened training starts September 17th, 2018
Training for Music For Minors II docents takes place from mid September through early November each year. Training is offered in Fremont (mornings) and Castro Valley (evenings). The training class is taught by the MFMII Executive Director with guest presenters who are music specialists. Docents learn effective methods of teaching children and are given a wide exposure to available music education materials.
Course requirements involve observing other docents and preparing presentations to the class. Specialized curriculum materials, such as CDs, books, puppets, charts, and rhythm instruments from Music For Minors II's five resource centers, enable docents to enhance their curriculum and give children hands-on musical experiences. Once in the classroom, docents are monitored and supported by Music For Minors II staff.
MFMII Docent Training Schedule
Training classes are weekly and are supplemented with school site shadowing of docents, classroom observations, and gradual transition into the classroom. Learning the tricks of the trade from experienced docents at times convenient for the trainees provides more flexibility for our volunteers and provides them with hands-on exposure to what it means to be a docent early on in training.
MFMII Docent Training Flyers
Print a copy of our Docent Training Flyer (pdf). Spanish flyer.
MFMII Docent Support
Docents receive all training materials at no cost, including a Methodology and Song Binder which includes sample lesson plans and suggestions that docents are encouraged to modify for their own classroom needs. The binders include the words and music for over 200 songs. A curriculum committee of Music For Minors II evaluates the materials and regularly makes new materials available to docents. All docents also can freely borrow specialized curriculum materials, such as CDs, books, puppets, and rhythm instruments from Music For Minors II's five resource centers, housed at Niles School, Glenmoor and Leitch Elementary Schools in Fremont, Kennedy School in Newark, and at Proctor School in Castro Valley for hands-on classroom use. Since 2015, we have had docent mentors to support all new docents.
Music For Minors II provides access to online music resources (based on state standards), lesson plans, docent sharing sessions and ongoing workshops for docents, classroom teachers, parents, and community members. These workshops focus on ways to help people integrate music into their daily lives and those of children. Each session has attracted many participants from Fremont, Newark, and Castro Valley school districts. Learn more about workshops.
