Pair an older kid with a younger one for reading time. The older kid reads aloud, the younger kid listens. Everyone wins.

The older kid practices fluency, expression, and the confidence that comes from being the expert. The younger kid gets a "cool" reading model who isn't a parent or teacher — which, for some kids, is the missing ingredient. Siblings, cousins, neighbors, or classroom pairings all work.

The secret benefit: the older kid will choose books carefully because they want to impress their audience. That curation process — thinking about what someone else would enjoy — is a sophisticated reading skill that most programs don't teach until much later.