This Art and design video supports teachers in introducing Year 2 pupils to the primary colours through practical exploration and experimentation. It explains how the unit encourages pupils to investigate red, yellow and blue through hands-on painting activities, developing curiosity about colour and building confidence in using paint as a creative material.

The video provides guidance on creating opportunities for open-ended exploration, allowing pupils to observe what happens when colours are mixed and applied in different ways. Teachers are encouraged to model and reinforce accurate vocabulary, support careful observation and focus on the process of discovery rather than predetermined outcomes. Throughout, the emphasis is on helping pupils explore how paint behaves, notice colour changes and develop their understanding of colour through experimentation and discussion, laying foundations for future learning about colour mixing and colour theory.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Art and design painting videos, which support teacher confidence and subject knowledge while helping children explore materials, develop creativity and build early understanding of colour theory.

See more of our Year 2 Art and design scheme of work.

• Art and design, Year 2, Painting and mixed media: Colour mixing, Lesson 1: Exploring primary colours. 
• Art and design, Year 2, Painting and mixed media: Colour mixing.