GrowingInGrace

For around $5, you can get a tub of buttons of different colors and shapes for older dc. It's a great sorting and counting manipulative. I am amazed at some of the cool buttons that are in there.

I also love "wonder bottles" for the smaller dc. Filling up water bottles with different materials - water, food coloring and sequins/glitter/baby oil; food coloring and corn syrup; rice and a bunch of small toys or items found around the house (paper clip, penny,buttons, etc). I have bottles filled with colorful buttons in one, and dried beans of different types in another. Super glue the lids to the bottles and then just leave them at child height. They are great and inexpensive.

Seashells are great too. I have some in the house for exploration, but I want to get some more and put in the sandbox outside for treasure hunting.

I hunt the remnant section of fabric stores for textured/patterned fabrics. I've gotten some really cool fabrics for really cheap - curly fur, soft fake fur, silky material, tulle, scratchy fabrics. If there's a Hancock fabrics going out of business near you, they have decorator fabric swatches (large ones) for 99 cents a piece. I bought some neat ones - a red herringbone, a light blue satiny one, a dark blue weaved cotton/poly blend, a chocolate brown striped textured one. And they have finished edges so they won't start unraveling.

Paint swatch cards are great for color identifying, sorting and sequencing from light hues to dark. I like the big ones from dutch boy since they are perforated and will separate easily. And the best part - they are FREE!