Hey there. You made it to Friday. Whether this week flew by or dragged on, the weekend is here. Here are a few ideas to help you reset and get ready for the week ahead.

This one is simple and works for almost any age. Grab some blankets, pillows, couch cushions, and maybe a few chairs, and build a fort together in the living room. It does not need to be fancy. Once it is up, hang out inside. Read a book together, tell stories, or just sit and talk. Younger kids love the novelty of it, and older kids often get into it more than you would expect once the building starts. It costs nothing, requires no planning, and gives everyone a chance to just be together without a screen in the way.

Take 10 minutes Sunday evening to gather every stray piece of paper floating around the house. Permission slips, homework sheets, school flyers, mail that needs attention. Sort it into three piles: needs a signature, needs to go back to school, and can be tossed. It is a small thing, but it keeps Monday morning from turning into a frantic search through backpacks and kitchen counters. If your kids are old enough, have them help. It builds the habit of staying on top of their own paperwork too.

If you have not tried Codenames, it is a great one for families with kids around age 10 and up. It is a word-based team game where one person gives one-word clues to help their teammates guess the right words on a grid. Rounds move quickly, usually about 15 to 20 minutes, and it gets everyone talking and thinking together. It works well with four or more players and is easy to learn even if your family is not big on board games. It also comes in a Duet version for two players if your household is smaller.

Lowkey means slightly, secretly, or in a quiet, understated way. Kids use it when they want to admit something without making a big deal out of it. If your kid says "I lowkey love that song," they mean they like it but do not want to broadcast it. "I'm lowkey nervous about the test" means they are a little anxious but not trying to draw attention to it. It is one of those words that softens whatever comes next. You might also hear "highkey," which is the opposite and means they are not holding back at all.

For the younger kids: What planet is known as the Red Planet?

For the older kids: What country gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States?

(Answers at the bottom)

Science: A teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh about 6 billion tons. Neutron stars are what remain after massive stars collapse. They pack an incredible amount of matter into a tiny space, sometimes only about 12 miles across. That makes them one of the densest objects in the universe.

Language Arts: The dot over the letters "i" and "j" is called a tittle. It comes from the Latin word "titulus," meaning a small mark or label. So the phrase "to a T" may actually come from the idea of being precise enough to include every small detail, right down to the tittle.

Another week is in the books. Maybe it went well. Maybe it was one of those weeks where nothing quite landed the way you hoped. Either way, you kept showing up, and your kids noticed that even if they did not say so.

Weekends look different for every family. Some of you will have a packed schedule with games, errands, and events. Some of you might not leave the house, and that is perfectly fine. There is no right way to spend these two days as long as your family gets a little time to breathe.

Not every week needs a win to count. Sometimes just getting through it is the whole point. Rest up, be kind to yourself, and we will be back next week with a little more to help you along.

Younger: Mars is known as the Red Planet. It gets its color from iron oxide, which is basically rust, covering much of its surface. Mars has the tallest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, which is about two and a half times the height of Mount Everest.

Older: France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1886. It was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, and its iron framework was built by Gustave Eiffel, the same engineer behind the Eiffel Tower. The statue was shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in 214 crates.