Work Out Falling Asleep

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Falling asleep. Hey, Wombuddies. Do you ever have trouble falling asleep? Like no matter what you do, your eyes won't close? That happened to me once. And here's the story of how I, Malik, figured out how to fall asleep. The story starts at night. I'm in my pajamas saying goodnight to Super. Zadie and Zeke are having a sleepover at Louisa's. so they're not here, which means I have the room to myself!

And here I thought you'd be missing your sister and brother. Ah, nope. For once the room is nice and quiet. Want me to tuck you in? Yes, please. And plump your pillow. Yes, please. And turn out the light. Yes, please. Nighty-night, Malik. Sleep nice and tight. I will. Good night, Grandma Super. Alone at last. It's so quiet in here. I can hear the clock tick. And the leaves rustle.

It's kind of too quiet. I'm wide awake. Where's my guitar? I made up a lullaby once. Maybe if I sing it, I'll start feeling sleepy. Yo, sleepyhead, it's time for bed. So what I'm saying is quit your plane. And go to bed, that's what I said. Shut your eyes, lay down your head. Hey, Grandma Super. What's up? Not much, except what on the goodly green earth are you doing? I couldn't sleep, so I decided to sing my lullaby. Ah.

And did it make you sleepy? No. It made me dancey. How do I fix this problem, Grandma Super? I'm thinking that if you want to fall asleep, you should try something more relaxing. You're right. I need a new plan. I need something nice and relaxing.

Oh, a story. Bedtime stories are super relaxing. Well then, I'll read you one. Let's see a nice relaxing story. How about... Three sleepy wombats. Yes, that's Zadie's favorite and Zeke's second favorite. Here we go. Three sleepy wombats in the middle of the night. lay in their swingy-ding hammocks tucked up tight. Swingy-ding is Zadie's favorite word. Three sleepy wombats thought the moon was too bright. So they said to the moon,

Can you dim your light? Zeke thinks that is so funny, asking the moon not to shine. The moon nodded yes and hid behind the cloud. Three sleepy wombats said thank you out loud. Grandma Super, this story isn't working. It's not making me sleepy. It's making me think about Zadie and Zeke. The lullaby didn't work. The story didn't work. How do I fix this? Let's see. You need something relaxing that doesn't make you dancey. Or remind me of Zadie or Zeke.

When I was little, I used to count things to help me fall asleep. That's it! Brand new plan! Counting is relaxing. Doesn't make me dancey. And never makes me think of Zadie or Zeke. What would you like to count? Hmm. Oh, airplanes! Like the one I built yesterday. Excellent! Just picture airplanes whizzing by as you count, and soon you'll be sawing logs. I'll be what? Sawing logs is what my grampy used to call snoring, like this. Stop, you're breaking my ears. I don't want to do that.

Good night, little Squish. Night, Grandma Super. Okay. I am now going to imagine airplanes whizzing over my head. One airplane. Two airplanes. Three airplanes. Four airplanes. This isn't working. Even in my imagination, airplanes are too loud. Speaking of airplanes, where's that one I built? Hmm, I put it under my pillow. I know it did. That's weird. No airplane.

There's a note from Zadie. Dear Malik, I borrowed your airplane to show it to Louisa. You weren't around, or I would have asked. Hope you don't mind, your sister Zadie. I don't mind, Zadie. I hope you're having fun with it. Are you still up, Honey Bun? What happened to counting airplanes? They were too loud. And then I found a note from Zadie. I miss Zadie. I mean, I...

Don't miss her at all. But... But you kind of do, yes? Ah, yes. And Zeke. Maybe that's why I can't sleep. It probably has something to do with it.

It's just that normally I hear them snoring at night or mumbling or turning around in their hammocks. Hmm. I have a new plan, Grandma Super, for how to get to sleep. So what's this exciting new plan of yours? I'm calling Zadie and Zeke. I'm going to record them making sleep noises. Oh, hey, Louisa! Can I talk to Zadie and Zeke? Thanks. And then I'm going to play the recording to help me fall asleep. Malik, why aren't you in bed? Why are you calling us? Because I need you to snore.

Like you're at home sleeping. Say what? Just snore like you usually do, so I can record it, okay? Weird, but okay. Ready, Zeke? Can you snort snort too? Sure. All done. See you tomorrow. You got what you needed? I did. Good night, Grandma Super. I'm just going to lie in my hammock and listen to Zadie and Zeke. I think I worked at house

Hey, Wombuddies. So if you have trouble falling asleep or doing anything, think about your problem. Make a plan to fix it and then see if your plan worked. I kept trying different ideas. A song, a story, counting airplanes, until I worked it out. Good night, Wombuddies. Happy sleeping. Thanks for listening, Wombuddies. If you like the Work It Out Wombats podcast, ask your grown-up to subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. You can listen to all our podcasts, watch videos, and play games.

for free at pbskids.org. The Working on Wombats podcast is produced for PBS Kids by GBH Kids and distributed by PBS Kids and PRX. Working Out Wombats is made possible by a Ready to Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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