Benefits of OFTP membership
- Bi-monthly newsletter called "Home Rules" (see sample
articles and archived list of topics)
- Free advertising on the OFTP website for items relating to home-based
education (e.g. support group information,
meetings and events, curriculum
and other supplies)
- Free advertising on the OFTP website for your product
or service business. This is a way of sharing information about some
of the "work for income" some of our members do, often employment
from home which allows the family to home educate their children.
- Access to a variety of resource materials on home-based education,
books to read, legal issues, educational trends, current affairs, curriculum,
etc.
- OFTP Conference Discounts
- Access to OFTP email lists to network
and gain further information and resources — now also available
in French!
- A membership card which can be used to obtain discounts from educational
suppliers and other businesses and organizations. See our list
of current discounts:
- toy stores on Cumberland (Toronto)
- Bongo World educational toys
- Canadian Automobile Association
- Chapters - Indigo - Coles
- The Learning Tree educational store in Burlington
- Owlkids magazines: Chirp, chickaDEE, Owl
- Scholastic books
- Ontario Science Centre was a limited time offer (May 2008) - mentioned to illustrate the kinds of offers that can sometimes be included off and on
- Support and a voice for families who may not be part of a support
group
- Participation in a support system which is a strong advocate for
parental choice
- Access to advice and liaison support in dealing with legal issues,
schools, school boards and various government departments
- For your children, access to the OFTP
Kids and OFTP Teens email lists,
where they can network with other homelearning kids of OFTP members, share
their ideas and interests, and make new friends
- For your children, the opportunity to contribute to and/or be published
on the OFTP Kids and OFTP
Teens webpages — for the thrill of being published, the experience
of participating in a joint project, and/or something to add to their resume
(e.g. published articles/essays/stories or artwork, volunteer work contributions
in web design and website maintenance,...)
- For both you and your children, the opportunity to be published in print in the newsletter — for the thrill of being published and/or the addition to a resume
Discounts for OFTP members
These are only some of the discounts that are available. Make enquiries with businesses and organizations using your OFTP membership card and let us know if there is a willing supplier not yet listed.
Toy stores on Cumberland (Toronto)
"About 6 months ago I was shopping on Cumberland between Bay and Yonge (in Toronto). There is a toy store on the north side that accepted the OFTP card for a discount and a toy store in the plaza on the south side that gave me a discount for announcing I was a homeschooler." [November 2005]
Bongo World
www.bongoworld.com
Email:
info@ (add bongoworld.com to complete the email address)
Phone: (613) 296-6252
Online shopping for unique educational toys. OFTP members receive a 10%
discount (contact the OFTP website manager for
the discount code). Print catalogue also available. Ottawa area shoppers
can pickup their orders. You can subscribe to the BongoClub newsletter for
exclusive savings and promotions and to get updates on new toys and products.
Canadian Automobile Association (CAA)
The Canadian Automobile Association provides reduced rates on all their Membership Programs for OFTP members. Call 1-800-341-2226 and mention you are a member of the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents to receive Corporate Rates when you join or renew your membership at CAA.
Benefits include Insurance and Travel Services, and Emergency Roadside Assistance.
For further information, please contact Anthony Carroccetto at 416-998-0427 or ac1@ (add caasco.ca to complete the email address).
Chapters - Indigo - Coles
Chapters, Indigo and Coles bookstores offer a discount card for frequent buyers. Called iREWARDS, the card is normally $25/year. Teacher discounts of $5 are available to homeschoolers when they have verification of their status as home educators. The OFTP membership card is accepted as verification. Present it when you buy or renew your iRewards card and you will pay $20 for the annual fee of the card. The card, in turn, is used to receive discounts on your purchases as follows:
10% discount on all books and audiobooks at Chapters, Indigo, Coles, SmithBooks, World’s Biggest Bookstore and The Book Company stores in Canada, except during selected promotional periods.
5% discount on all books and audiobooks (except used and out-of-print books) at chapters.indigo.ca.
The Learning Tree Educational Store
www.learningtreecanada.com
Cumberland Shopping Square
3300 Fairview Street, Burlington, Ont. L7N 3N7
Tel./Fax: (905) 319-2690, Toll Free: 1-866-319-2690
Email: info@
(add learningtreecanada.com to complete the email address)
OFTP members get the 10% teacher discount. Great selection of resource books, manipulatives, educational games, etc. from major publishers. You can place orders by telephone, fax, email or letter or visit the store, or you can shop from the manufacturers' catalogues online.
Ontario Science Centre
In May 2008, the Ontario science Centre extended a limited-time discount offer to OFTP members: one full year of membership for $15 off of the regular price.
Regular 1 year Family Membership: $120, OFTP price: *$105*
Top benefits of OSC Membership:
- Free admission to the Science Centre
- Free admission to the upcoming special exhibition *FACING MARS: Would you Survive the Journey?*
- 50% off parking (free for Gold Members)
- 50% off IMAX(R) tickets (free for Gold Members)
Offer expired May 31, 2008. Mentioned for illustration purposes only. We hope the OSC will extend a new offer from time to time.
Owlkids
OFTP members receive a subscription rate break from Owlkids: get a yearly subscription (10 issues) for $25.00 (regularly $32.00). These are their publications:
Chirp —Ages 3 to 6
chickaDEE —Ages 6 to 9
OWL —Ages 9 to 13
Scholastic Book Club
Homeschoolers can obtain discounts on Scholastic books by running a school-market book club. To run a book club, you will need an account number. Scholastic requires a signed letter of verification stating that you are homeschooling your children. The letter should include the number of children and their ages. Send the letter to: E. Mills Scholastic Canada Ltd., 175 Hillmount Road Markham, Ontario L6C 1Z7. For customer service, call 1-800-268-3860. See their website for details on how the club works: www.scholastic.ca
OFTP is a member of the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools (OFIS).
We hope that you can join us to support the valuable work of the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents.
