Modern Homemakers

Janna Simpao: Keep Moving And Learning

by Kevyn Gohu
March 23, 2022

For Bride and Breakfast Editor-in-Chief Janna Simpao, the year that put the world to a halt was a time for learning new things and embracing new passions.

With a more freed-up schedule, Bride and Breakfast’s Editor-in-Chief Janna Simpao found the silver lining in it all. These days, she’s enjoyed more quality time being with her husband Ian and her kids, Matti and Rocco. When homeschooling became the norm, Janna discovered that the extra time on her hands has helped her discover new things about her children. She’s observed how they learn to handles themselves—facing up to new challenges of distance learning.

Distance Learning offered her a new horizon

Janna has also bonded with parents of kids enrolled in her online distance learning endeavor, Kidstarter. Herself having had to navigate the new methods of educating her children, she’s found joy in helping fellow parents adjust and calibrate more seamlessly. “Like all children (and parents!) there was an adjustment period. We had to train them and ourselves to have a system. Once they got the hang of the routine, then it’s not so crazy,” explains Janna and adds, “The reality is ODL/homeschooling really demands parents be involved. But don’t jump in right away when you see they need help. Give them a chance to figure things out too. They actually get the hang of it pretty quickly.”

Her kids’ progress in Homeschool led to her wanting to help parents transform their kids into life-long learners. “We made the Kidstarter Curious Curriculum to help parents get started with homeschool. Our goal is to help parents raise lifelong learners. Since it’s also super affordable, a lot of parents have opted to use it during this pandemic,” explains Janna.

Finding the things that stress out parents

Besides helping parents and children, the creator behind By Janna jewelry also discovered craft as a means for elevating the stresses of adjusting to online schooling. She details, “As a treat to all the hardworking moms who help with ODL and homeschooling, I also started By Janna Jewelry! I find it takes away the stress when we get to enjoy simple perks like that. Getting fixed up in the morning helps me feel better about assisting my kids in school.”

Life as we once knew it may have been put to a halt by the pandemic, but Janna was keen to keep moving. Apart from developing a new curriculum for homeschooling, she’s also created a new venue for creativity through her jewelry line. By creating a jewelry line and a curriculum to help new homeschool parents, Janna realized that life goes on—even at a time when all is put to a halt. “Instead of focusing on my fears, I asked God what I can do while I am at home. That’s actually why I ended up doing By Janna Accessories and Kidstarter,” she intimates. “I learned that life may look very different now but it doesn’t mean it stops. No matter how I look at it, I am still very grateful everyday.”