We did CTC last year, and it took about 4 hours to do. We did PHFHG the year before, and that took us a little less than 4 hours to complete. A few things to keep in mind - it took me about 5 1/2 hours to do CTC the first 2 weeks of school, but by the end of the first month, the time was down to 4 hours. I took time to carefully teach each box, and I had a routine order of doing the boxes for my ds. These 2 factors make a big difference in how the overall year goes as far as time is concerned. Also, I gave the guide to my ds and let him use it himself, checking off the boxes in the corner as he went. This is a huge time saver. A child can only be as independent as they are ready for though, so if a child has not had experience with independently following directions and completing assignments, or if they are totally new to CM, the time may be longer. Proper placement is a big deal, and the placement chart is very helpful in getting dc off to the right start with HOD.
I am doing all of HOD as it is written, including LA and math. If you are subbing in other LA and math, the length of your day could potentially be longer. For example, our Singapore math takes us about 20-30 minutes to do. If a subbed in math takes an hour, 30 minutes is added to the day. Same for grammar. R & S 4 took us about 20 minutes to do, and as HOD suggests, we did a good portion of it orally or on markerboard, reserving only the last 1/3 to be done on paper. If you have a different grammar, and it takes an hour to do, you can see how with just a subbed in math and grammar, you added an hour to your day.
DITHOR is scheduled 3 times a week in the upper HOD guides, and that takes us about 30 minutes to do. If you sub in a different reading program and do it daily - well, you get the point I'm trying to make. Also, if your child is unable to independently read the things he is supposed to, and you are having to read the books out loud instead (or you choose to read the books out loud because you enjoy doing so), again more time. Finally, I do not add anything to HOD. It is more than enough, and I want to be done with school by lunch so my dc can explore other interests, and I can dig my way through the laundry and the cleaning that 3 busy outdoor-lovin' boys can manage to accumulate. If you add other things to HOD, or if you draw boxes out and add more of your own discussions/questions, etc. to the boxes, wah-lah - you guessed it, MORE TIME.
So, yes, 100% for sure you can finish CTC in the alloted 4 to 4 1/2 hours provided CTC is what you are doing and nothing else, and provided your child was properly placed. Adding or subbing in things, or reading aloud instead of having dc read silently, etc. are not bad things - and if they make you happy and you enjoy them, you should do them, but just know that then you may be choosing to add more time to your day, and if that's worth it to you, you should definitely do it. HTH! Just in case you are interested, here's a break down of CTC and the time each box should take once a child is in a good rhythm with school:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3765
Also, here is a link to the placement chart, in case you hadn't gotten a chance to check that out yet:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
And, if you are still reading and are interested, here's a copy of our schedule for doing CTC (and BHFHG and LHTH) last year:
HTH - and having done Sonlight for a year, I do think you'll find HOD easy to implement and easy on the time!
In Christ,
Julie