{"id":142176,"date":"2026-06-24T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/?p=142176"},"modified":"2026-06-24T09:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:15:10","slug":"come-play-in-the-dirt-with-hazel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/uncategorized\/come-play-in-the-dirt-with-hazel","title":{"rendered":"Come Play in the Dirt with Hazel!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ahhh, Summer! A time for kids to take a break from School, hit the swimming pool, ride bikes and\u2026 play in the dirt?

When I was a kid, playing in the dirt was something to do while waiting for something else to do. But at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, it has become the thing to do on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. That\u2019s when we have GiGi\u2019s Hands to Harvest, where participants explore planting, caring for, and learning about plants through engaging gardening activities. And when Hands to Harvest launched on June 3rd, seven-year-old Hazel Moline and her brother George and sister Alice were there to get things started. And getting started involved introducing earthworms into the four raised planters that comprise the GiGi\u2019s Playhouse garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest, Hazel wasn\u2019t enamored by handling these slimy creatures, but she did learn about how important they are to the vegetables and plants we\u2019re growing this summer. And once she helped distribute the earthworms into the four planters, she and her siblings had a blast tending to the plants, some that were grown from seeds and some from tiny starter plants.
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Hands to Harvest <\/strong>is one example of how GiGi\u2019s Playhouse is more than a Down syndrome achievement center \u2013 it is a place for families and the community.  Each program is led by community volunteers and enjoyed by entire families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Hazel\u2019s mom, Maddy says, \u201cWe\u2019re so thankful for the programming offered by GiGi\u2019s. It provides opportunities for Hazel to grow and learn new things while including her two siblings which is crucial for us to participate.\u00a0\u00a0GiGi\u2019s is truly a family affair and helps our typical kids learn along with Hazel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s room for more to \u201cplay in the dirt\u201d in GiGi\u2019s Hands to Harvest<\/strong>, as well as in the other offerings of this year\u2019s summer calendar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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See our Calendar and Register for Programs<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ahhh, Summer! A time for kids to take a break from School, hit the swimming pool, ride bikes and\u2026 play in the dirt? When I was a kid, playing in the dirt was something to do while waiting for something else to do. But at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, it has become the thing to do on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23446,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/desmoines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}