This spring, I was so excited when I saw forget-me-nots blooming in my yard. These little blue (and sometimes pink and purple) flowers are not just beautiful but, for many, are a symbol of their deceased loved ones. As I admired the forget-me-nots, they gave me inspiration for some sibling remembrance activities.
One of those activities is an activity/coloring page featuring five little forget-me-nots on a single stem. Children can use the page simply as a coloring sheet, coloring the flowers in and even adding a background if they'd like, and dedicate the picture to their sibling still.
Children can also be invited to write inside of each flower little memories of their deceased sibling before coloring. Because every loss is different, these memories may vary a lot, so I wanted to keep the activity open-ended and share some examples.
Below is a forget-me-not coloring page in memory of Catherine Ava Mullen. Her mom Sam graciously shared some memories of sweet Katie with me. Katie died at one month old due to a congenital heart defect, and some of the memories reflect the time that they spent together.
Other memories include her birthday, her nickname, and physical characteristics.
Some losses, however, will not have the same sorts of memories. As a loss parent, we may not know the physical characteristics or personality of our baby. To give an example of such a loss, my daughter completed the activity sheet in memory of her brother Jesse, who died at 3 months of pregnancy.
My daughter chose to write her brother's name inside one of the flowers. She then wrote words that she relates to the loss that capture her emotions, like "love," "sad," and "family."
If you choose to do the memory activity with your child, there is no one right way to do it. A child may feel inclined to write their own memory words as my daughter did. It's also possible to use this activity as a way to share your own memories of the deceased baby. It could be anything, like the time of year you discovered the pregnancy (ex. "spring"), things that remind you of your baby who died (ex. "butterflies"), or something you did while you were pregnant with that baby (ex. "road trip").
To download the forget-me-not coloring/activity sheet, click below:
I hope that this activity can be a helpful resource to your family as you navigate your grief journey.
-Megan