This paper draws on the comparative and qualitative data from a triple case study carried out in three semi-rural early childhood education centres in Canada, India, and South Africa. The primary objective of this four year study was to provide in-depth understanding of the ways in which policy, practice, and culture intersect in semi-rural contexts. This article focuses on the organisation and use of materials in the preschool space as a means to examine the interplay between indigenous cultural norms as these relate to working with children and trends towards uniformity or globalisation of early childhood practice.