Math Flippers are an essential resource to keep on hand when it comes to remembering math formulas, rules, and the like. These portable guides contain hundreds of rules, examples, and definitions printed on both sides of 5" x 3.5" coated cards. The coated cards (cardstock?) are attached to a 6.5" x 11" hard, black plastic backing. The backing is three-hole punched which makes keeping the Flipper in your math binder a breeze. All the different topics are listed on the bottom of each card, therefore, it is easy to find what you’re looking for.  To use the Flipper, students decide which topic they want to refer to and then flip the cards up to see the card that contains the desired information.

We received seven Math Flippers from Flipper Guides. They include Math 1 (for grades 3-5), Math 2 (for grades 6-adult), Pre-Algebra (for grades 6-7), Algebra 1 (for grades 7-8), Algebra 2 (for grades 9-college), Geometry 2 (for grades 10-college), and Calculus 1 (for grades 11-college).

The Math 1 Flipper has twenty cards that teach beginning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, rounding, number lines, factors, and sets. It contains over 225 rules, definitions, and samples.

The Math 2 Flipper is slightly more exhaustive containing twenty-five cards and over 350 rules, definitions, and examples covering fractions, decimals, ratio, proportions, percent, probability, graphs, square roots, and metric conversions.

Pre-Algebra (labeled a preliminary version) also contains twenty-five two-sided cards and boasts over 325 rules, definitions, and examples covering the number line, integers, rational numbers, scientific notation, median, like terms, equations, and the Pythagorean theorem. As you can see by the inclusion of the theorem in the Pre-Algebra Flipper, the different areas of mathematics can overlap on the cards.

Algebra 1 also contains over 325 rules, definitions, and examples and helps you break down the tricky aspects of the distributive property, open sentences, disjunction, polynomials, factoring, quadratic formula, complex numbers, and rational equations. All this information is given on twenty-five two-sided cards.

While the Algebra 1 Flipper is labeled an introductory version, the Algebra 2 Flipper is labeled and advanced version containing over 325 rules, definitions, and examples. The topics covered on this Flipper are the coordinate plane, slopes of lines, functions, synthetic division, radicals, logarithmic functions, theorems, exponential equations, and geometric sequences.

Geometry 2 is an advanced version containing over 300 rules, definitions, and examples for and geometric mean, tangent theorems, arcs, chords, right prisms, pyramids, slopes of lines, coordinate proofs, and rotation.

Calculus 1 (an introductory version) contains a whopping 375 rules, definitions, and examples covering trigonometric identities, derivatives, continuity, differentiation, parametric equations, inverse trigonometric functions, graphical analysis, and inverse functions.

Obviously, these are not a stand-alone curriculum. They are, however, an excellent resource to have on hand. Learning the different formulas and rules for math, especially in the higher grades, can be hard. These Flippers do an excellent job of easing a bit of that pain by conveniently listing each rule associated with the different areas of mathematics and breaking them down with definitions and many examples.

My sophomore has been using the Algebra 1, Algebra 2,  and Geometry Flippers during the review period. She has doubled up in math this year, so these have been very handy! She keeps them in her math binder.

Because my first grader is advanced in mathematics and science, I’ve been able to use Math 1 with him. The Place Value, Reading and Writing Numbers, and Expanded Form cards have all been helpful to him. Being able to keep the Flipper on the table while he’s doing his math has had two benefits. One, he easily refers back to them without getting up from his chair. And two, he feels like a big boy since his fifteen-year-old sister is using the same type of product.

The Flippers are essentially the alternative to a Google or Khan Academy search. Plus, you don’t need WIFI to use these- always a bonus. Really, the only criticism I have of the Flippers is the coloring. Each Flipper has its own color scheme- blue/dark blue, pink/black, green/black, pink/dark pink, grey/mauve, and white/black. Now, if the colors were very different I’d say this is a great idea for easy identification purposes. However, some are very close in color. For example, the Math 1 and Calculus 1 Flippers are nearly identical in color. This isn’t a problem per se, just an observation. But then again, I hardly think someone using Math 1 will be using Calculus 1 at the same time, thus making the similar colors inconsequential.

Overall, these have been very useful and I suspect they will continue to be over my next 17 years of homeschooling. (My youngest is one year old.) I highly recommend the Math Flippers. They are a simple, yet effective tool to aid you and your children in what is so often the most dreaded part of the homeschool day- math. The Flippers are $9.95 each and are available on the website.

-Product review by Jeniffer Do Nascimento, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2018