Dad or Mom removes coconut meat from the shell. To get the coconut meat, place the whole coconut on the garage floor or sidewalk. Crack the shell open by giving it a hard whack with a hammer or mallet, about 2 inches below the pointed end. The coconut meat can be eaten either with the brown skin intact or it can be removed with a vegetable peeler. Whole fresh coconuts keep for a month in the refrigerator, about two weeks unrefrigerated.
Kids can share coconut meat with classmates and tell the story about coconuts.
There is absolutely no cake as wonderful as a fresh coconut cake. Keep unused shredded coconut in a tightly closed plastic bag in the refrigerator, but use it within a couple of weeks. A taste or serving of something isn't going to raise cholesterol enough to matter. It's a constant diet of foods high in saturated fat that will do it. Carefully puncture three eyes of coconut with sharp instrument, like an ice pick.