When I taught 5th grade, one of the activities that we used to do quite a bit was "Buddy Reading" to the kindergarten kids. It truly was a mutually beneficial (symbiotic, anyone?) relationship between the two vastly differently-aged kids...and something I highly recommend for parents with kids of multiple ages. It's as easy as asking the older child to "be the teacher" to the younger child. The older child (OC) will most likely love having the responsibility of being "in charge" of the younger child(ren) (YC), and will take his role very seriously. The YC will love this because chances are good she looks up to her big brother and wants to be just like him. (Added bonus is that it buys you 5 minutes to load the dishwasher!)
If your older child is not quite old enough to read the story, he can still teach the younger child by pointing out colors and identifying animals, cars, trucks, trees in the book. If you only have one child, let her be the teacher to your pet dog or cat, or even a stuffed animal.
Changing up normal reading time makes it that much more exciting, and letting your child be the teacher will add even more fun to reading.
Who doesn't love Sandra Boynton's books? They're funny, cute, kid-appealing, and this one in particular has a really important talking point for kids. Happy Hippo, Angry Duck takes a light-hearted approach to kids' feelings and letting them know that being sad, angry, happy or frazzled is totally and completely normal. As always, Boynton's illustrations attract kids, but it's the message in the book that I find so compelling. I think so often we forget that kids need to know that being confused or angry is just part of life. She ends on such a positive note by saying ". . .I hope you are happy. But if you are not, you have friends who will help you." We need to emphasize to even the youngest kids that they are surrounded by family and friends who love and support them no matter what. Two thumbs up for this multi-purpose book! We found it on Amazon for just $5.99! 
