My ds placed on the line for Preparing and CTC, but more on the CTC side. We're familiar with CM style lessons. We've done narration, copywork, dictation, etc. Ds is not strong in narration skills, and although we do some written narration, I'm not certain how to actually "train" him in this skill. This is the only thing keeping him from being completely on the CTC side of the placement chart. Between now and the time we start CTC (which could be a little while), how should I go about building up his skills in narration-- both oral and written? He has excellent comprehension, especially in silent reading, and can recall details quite easily. It's the molding of the info into a logical, coherent retelling of the story without making it longer than the reading actually is-- or sometimes so short you don't have a clue what he is narrating from. We can't find that happy medium.
With written narrations, they are quite short-- I assume b/c he has to write. It's also quite plain and not all that informative...he may choose one character to write a couple sentences about but not really hit the high points and the story. Will CTC start from the beginning of training to do written narration or will it assume the child already has a good grasp of this skill? Are there still oral narrations and what guidance is provided for this skill? Is there a step-by-step I should be following now to assure he's ready?
Also, I see that there are weekly creative writing lessons in Preparing, which we will miss. What sort of creative writing lessons should I do with him now? We have been using another LA program, but I feel like we will begin our transition to R&S sooner than later and drop the other. I don't feel comfortable jumping into it at level 5 having never used the program before. Are the writing lessons from R&S? From another program? If it's just built in, can you suggest an inexpensive program to use to prepare for CTC or is CTC foundational enough in it's writing lessons that I don't need to do anything now?
Sorry so many questions.
I am considering though, keeping it at half pace for a bit. 
We are using CTC now, and I am wondering how old your ds is? I think if he is not in the upper age range of HOD's target ages (which are ages 9-11) that it would be tough to jump into CTC having not done any of the previous HOD guides. CTC does assume dc can orally narrate well, though it does give guidance in the Appendix. It also assumes dc can do written narrations quite well - again, it does give guidance in the Appendix that is helpful - however, this is not the same as getting the guidance provided in the daily lesson plans of the PHFHG guide. I am concerned that if your reason for choosing CTC is hoping ds will be able to be more independent that he actually may be less independent than he would be in PHFHG. There is a good deal of writing required in CTC, dc need to follow sequential directions independently within boxes of plans, and it is assuming dc have pretty strong CM LA skills in place. In PHFHG, you teach the foundation for these skills, which does take time, but then the assignments are shorter. If CTC, it's assuming you don't need to teach the foundation for these skills, so you have your teaching time other places. If you have to do both in CTC - go back and teach the foundation for these skills - and also do the teaching time planned other places in the guide, this could equal a longer day for you in the long run, even though CTC is designed to be more independent. So, I think it would be very helpful to print out both the PHFHG and the CTC first week's of plans and lay them side by side. Pay special attention to the "I" boxes which are meant to be done independently by the child, and see if you think your ds can easily read and follow the directions, and can truly do the assignments independently. If you think he can, than CTC is probably a wonderful fit and a terrific choice! If you find yourself thinking he'd really need a lot of you yet on the "I" boxes (and even on the "S" semi-independent boxes), than I'd go with PHFHG. HTH! 