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From the very beginning the boys were exposed to lots of music, as
their dad was a professional musician and their mother sang with him. There
was always a piano in the house for the children to plunk around on, and
they did lots of plunking! The boys were sung to from birth and were present
at lots of jam sessions, band
The family began homeschooling in 1978, long before it was popular! In
fact, in the Indiana farm town where the Lester's lived, the legality of
homeschooling was very questionable. So, the family went underground,
When John received the Lester’s Christmas tape, he loved it so much
that he wrote an article about it in GWS. He said it would be the first
audio tape offering of John Holt’s Book and Music Store catalog. This
encouraged the family to make more tapes. (Read John Holt's original
review that started it all.) They recorded a sequel to their
The Lester family tapes caught a precious period of the family’s history when all the boys still had high voices and were willing and eager to perform. Sometimes their parents could scarcely keep them away from those microphones! As the boys matured, they became more reserved. But, to this day they all play music and sing together on a regular basis. Now in their 20s, they still love music. |
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Steve and Darlene were married 33 years ago, and so began the Lester
family. Their first baby, Nathen, came along 3 years later. They went on to
have 4 more sons, all homebirths; Ely, Damian, Gabriel, and Benjamin.
rehearsals, and concerts. They listened to a
wide assortment of recorded music, as their parents had broad musical
tastes. They were also read to every day. They often left the library with
20 books for mom to read to them, only to return a week later for new books.
By the time they were elementary school age, their mom was reading them the
classics. They all became very good readers and listeners.
Steve and Darlene chose not to have a TV in the house from the
beginning, which left lots of time for the children to make their own
entertainment and fun. They spent much of their time in make-believe play
and outdoor adventures.
Darlene was very conscientious about feeding her family a nutritious
diet. They had a garden, belonged to a natural foods co-op, had goats and
chickens, made their own bread, and all meals were made "from scratch". The
children helped with food preparation doing things like kneading dough,
shaking the cream for butter, sorting the beans, stirring the batter, and
flipping the pancakes. They also washed countless dishes!
not
wanting to jeopardize their freedom to teach their kids in the way that
they saw fit. The family tried various curriculums, but quickly found that
"unschooling" worked the best for them. Each child had different interests,
talents, and styles of learning. Their parents felt it was important to be
equally supportive of each child’s gifts and styles, so they rejected the
"one size fits all" approaches to learning. Each child learned to the beat
of his own drum.
During this time, their dad encouraged them to play instruments and
sing along with him. For Christmas 1980 the family recorded an assortment of
songs, recitations, and recorder pieces that they had been working on. They
sent it to friends and relatives as Christmas gifts under the title, "The
Incredible, Luminous, Universal Musical Family". One of the tapes was sent to John
Holt, the leader and definer of the unschooling movement and frequent
convention speaker. He mostly spoke on what was wrong with schools and what
could be done about it. His conclusion was everything, and nothing. In other
words, schools can’t be fixed, just take your kids out!
first tape called, "My School", followed by their "learn to sing in harmony"
tapes that are offered on this website. The kids enjoyed the challenge of
singing in harmony, and when the songs they were learning turned out
sounding good, they were more than willing to record them on tape. They
wanted to hear what it sounded like! During that time, the family also
recorded two tapes having a breastfeeding theme for families with babies.
Babies were very much enjoyed in the Lester household, and the songs on the
tapes clearly reflect the family’s enthusiasm for little ones. Darlene is a
La Leche League leader (a breastfeeding consultant and advocate) 
and these
tapes came out of her own nursing experiences and family dynamics. The tapes
have sold steadily through LLL for the past 14 years.