A variety of manipulative materials in the classroom provide children the experience of different textures, smells, and physical properties. Parents often overlook the importance of these experiences and thus it is up to teachers and care providers to present children with interactive, hopefully messy hands on play experiences with many different materials. We have found three materials we feel give a good starting point for exploration into manipulatives. Jurassic Sand, Clay and our new offering Coconut Husk. We advocate for a permanent installation of sand and clay so the children can play in either at any time. Coconut husk is a different story. It is compressed into a very hard dry block which expands slowly in water to be about 3 or 4 times its size. It becomes a dark, soft and squishy pulp that absorbs water and feels great between the fingers. Smoosh it, stack it, strain it out. Once the kids are finished toss it out in the grass or garden or better yet plant seeds in it and start a whole new project.