First Lady's mother reads to students, talks about her life in the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama’s mother summed up her life at the White House in one word: wonderful.
Marian Robinson says the mansion is “much bigger than anything I’ve ever been accustomed to” and has “lots of people to take care of you.” But the people she moved here to care for — granddaughters Malia and Sasha — are growing up so fast she’s beginning to feel “left out.”
Robinson, 71, provided a glimpse into her life at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after she read “The Napping House” to a group of elementary school students from Montgomery County, Md., at the Education Department’s outdoor plaza on Wednesday. The story is about a grandson, a dog, a cat and a mouse who fall asleep on top of a grandmother but are awakened by the commotion after a flea bites the mouse.
Robinson appeared as part of a weekly summer reading series put on by the department.
President Barack Obama’s mother-in-law rarely speaks in public.
But she answered more than a dozen questions from the students on topics ranging from her life and the White House itself to how it feels having a daughter married to the president of the United States and whether she is rich.
“Let me say this. No, I am not rich,” Robinson told the boy who asked. “But that just lets you know that you just need to earn enough money to pay your way and you can still be happy and still be in a place where you never thought you would be.”
She said Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, don’t watch much television, but they do read and play games.
“I think they can only watch an hour a day,” Robinson said. “But they are at an age now where they’d rather read books or play games with themselves so grandma is beginning to feel left out. I spend a little time with them, but they’re growing up now.”
Robinson lived separately from the Obamas in Chicago and helped shuttle her granddaughters around when their parents were out of town during the presidential campaign. She moved to the White House to continue looking after the girls.
Overall, she said, hers is a wonderful life.
“I’m able to take care of my two grandchildren when their mother’s busy and she is pretty busy these days, and I am glad to be taking care of them,” Robinson said. “So my life is wonderful.”
Barack Obama has always been very hardworking, she said, and “he still is the hardest working person I know. I sometimes wonder how he does it, and Michelle, but then that’s what it takes to get things done, is hard work.”
Having a daughter married to the president is overwhelming, Robinson said, “especially when you come from the South Side of Chicago and your children went to public school and they just led normal everyday lives.”
“So it’s a very overwhelming feeling,” she said, adding: “mostly, it makes me very proud.”
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~Have You Read To Your 11 Year Old Lately?~

Have you read aloud to your 11 year old lately? That probably sounds absurd to most. Years ago I would have thought it strange that a parent was still reading aloud to their fifth grader. Most children learn to read on their own by first or second grade. Why would a parent need to continue reading aloud to their children after that point? You would think that allowing them to read on their own would help them become more independent and better readers. How does it help a child to have someone else do the reading?

I attended a parent workshop when my son was in second grade that I tell everyone changed our lives. Sounds a bit dramatic but I honestly believe it did change the way my husband and I now view our role in helping our son with his education.

The first question asked of parents at the workshop was how many of us read aloud to our children. I saw many in the audience nod their heads and some raised their hands. I also nodded my head. I had read to my son from infancy until the time when he began to easily read on his own. I knew the importance of reading to my child and I especially enjoyed sharing my favorite childhood books with him.

The next question asked was how many of us read aloud to our children once they had learned to read on their own. The room was silent. I was silent. My child was reading to me now. In fact, his second grade teacher made it a daily assignment for him to read aloud to us for homework. My son had some favorite books he loved reading aloud over and over to me. He was already reading chapter books both aloud and to himself. I was past that stage in parenthood. I briefly thought about how I missed sharing that time reading to him. It’s true that kids grow up so fast.

Much of what was said in that parent workshop was common sense. In fact, it was so simple and basic that I was embarrassed that I didn’t already realize I’d been so disconnected. I’d never once considered that I still needed to read aloud to my child. I had no idea that children master listening comprehension before reading comprehension. It never crossed my mind. Not once. I have discovered since that workshop three years ago that I’m not alone. I've come to realize that I'm not the only parent who hadn’t considered the benefits of continuing to read aloud to children as they grow older.

I went home the evening of that parent workshop and had a long talk with my husband. I explained to him the importance of continuing to read aloud to our son and how it would benefit him. I also explained the importance of a male child having their father or other male role model read to them. That very night we started a reading aloud program in our home that we continue to this day.

In my next few blog posts I will be sharing fun, creative ways that you can incorporate reading aloud into your own family routine. I’ll also be sharing some of the research that explains the many benefits of reading aloud to children of all ages. Reading aloud as family is a wonderful way for families to spend quality time together and for parents, grandparents and caregivers to help our children become lifetime readers.

“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children." ~ the report Becoming a Nation of Readers

"The commission found conclusive evidence to support reading aloud not only in the home but also in the classroom: “It is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.”~ the report Becoming A Nation of Readers