Here is a picture of all of the math flashcards Josh studied in preparation for this big test:

Well, it's done and Josh is sooo relieved!  He sat the PSAT this morning at a church in Atlanta and was extremely nervous about the whole thing.  When I left the room where they were going to take the test I looked back and he was positively green!  I felt kind of guilty because Dan had taken the day off (yay!!!!) and we were going to take the girls to visit The World of Coke while Josh was otherwise occupied. 

This "field trip" was kind of interesting, but not really worth the money.  I don't really care for soda (hate the carbonization), but it was close and we had never gone before and Dan has a friend who works for Coca-Cola, so we decided to check it out.  The best part was the end where you could taste 40 of Coke's products- many from around the world! 

Of course by the time I sampled all of the foreign drinks that I dared to I was feeling quite ill.  I've never had so much soda and I was only taking a sip or two of each variety!  The best flavor hailed from England (I think) and was like a cherry cream soda.  The worst was Ginger Beer from South Africa.  My girls had the good sense to have just a small glass of their favorite and then call it quits. 

We picked up Josh from the church where the test was being held at 1:00 and had a picnic lunch and then we went to see the Federal Reserve Building.  This was very interesting.  There were many interactive displays and a really cool view of one of the rooms where money is checked for wear and counterfeits (and then shredded) and the AGVs (automatic guided vehicles) which move huge boxes (called buses) of money from room to vault and are completely computer operated.

After that we headed home.  I'm really bushed and I think I'm just as relieved as Josh is that this is over, at least for a little while.  Taking the PSAT was a really good experience as I'm not a big fan of standardized testing and have always just done the bare minimum required by law.  I never made a big deal about it and the kids always faired pretty much as expected.  I actually DON'T mind the pressure Josh is feeling now about this test because he is older and will have this stress in every college class he takes in the form of mid-terms and finals.  It's time he learns to handle it. 

I called the dealer about my van this morning and the switch they had ordered to fix it had come in but it was the wrong part.  Rats.  We wound up ferrying to band in Papa's pickup truck. 

This was very fun as we needed to carry four people, one snare drum, two guitars, orchestra bells, a trumpet, a clarinet, 3 music stands and the various music books/ notebooks to go along with the aforementioned instruments.  Needless to say it took two trips.  Luckily band is only about five minutes away--thank you Papa!

Josh and I worked on some more flashcards from his SAT book.  I have to say that I really like this particular way of preparing for the test.  The book we are using is called SAT Math Flashcards and it also has Borders' name on it (that's where I bought it).  We rip out 4 sheets of 6 cards each and then we work through them using a calculator and some scrap paper. 

I like this method so much because the answer to the multiple choice question is on the back along with strategic advice (the best way to approach the problem) and a step-by-step solution.  So now there is no flipping back and forth between pages to find the solution!  I just have to watch that he doesn't peek before he's made an honest effort to solve the problem first.

This is proving a most effective method for my dear child because it gives help in the moment that he needs it and not 30-40 minutes later after he's completed a whole set and probably has forgotten what the problem he was having was and probably doesn't care anymore on top of it.  We can also set aside those cards he can solve immediately in his head or with a few calculator/pencil strokes. 

The flashcards will also be really easy to use with the next children as well.  I just have to keep up with them!  Ziplocks have worked well so far.  I wonder if they have a set of these for writing?!