venusmom - I can understand how it is difficult to choose what curriculum to use to teach your dc. There are many to choose from, and it can seem overwhelming. It has helped me to know what our goals are for homeschooling, as that distinctly narrows my curriculum choices. In fact, HOD is the only curriculum that fits all of our goals, so that has made the decision much easier.
I think it takes a bit to figure out what is going to fit our goals best. It's alright to say something didn't work, and it's alright to search until a good fit is found - provided we don't switch so often, so many times within so many years, that there is no continuity.
Our oldest dc are usually our "guinea pigs", but then we often settle into a good routine and somehow, those oldest dc seem to turn out just fine.
Looking at your concerns here...
venusmom wrote:...I guess boiling it down...here are my major concerns.
a. HOD seems to look like a better fit for my teaching style - but
b. If I get a little behind on a day due to dr appt or extra co-op activity, etc...how hard is it to mesh the days when each day is listed independently with no major space for me to add my progress - MFW guide lists a week and has a little room for notes - we have often had to double up a few subjects on another day to compensate for an interrupted schoolday
c. I like the supply list planned ahead w/MFW
d. If I decide MFW was a better fit - some of the books needed for CTG are needed the next year for RTR and then I'm scrambling to get books. One of the books, Victor Journey, is difficult to get right now outside of the pkg.
Those are probably my major concerns...with a & b being the most important. With that in mind - did you find the guide to be a problem. I am working hard toward reducing my volunteer commitments in order to ensure I have fewer interruptions to my schoolday - but some interruptions cannot be avoided, such as illnesses. Thanks for your input - It really helps me to know that you have used both and that you feel HOD fits you better - because that is the same thing I seem to see in HOD.
a. HOD fits my teaching style too.
It is completely open and go - in all my years of teaching (15 total), I've not ever found an easier to teach from guide.
I have no trips I have to make to the library, to the grocery store, or to anywhere else to make each week work.
It is academically strong with no areas left out. The books are amazing. The hands-on is fun and doable. Skills are taught step-by-step so my dc are growing from year to year, and therefore able to be very successful with independent work. Balance... balance... balance... My teaching time is so balanced. I am able to spend time with each child. I am able to teach what each child needs. I am able to finish school in a very manageable time (like from 8:15 AM to 12:30 PM), yet give my dc a very strong education. I also can count on each "box" of plans taking the same amount of time each day - I am never surprised by an activity all of a sudden taking 2 hours instead of 20 minutes. I also enjoy how varied my teaching is from guide to guide, from year to year, from child to child. This keeps our days exciting! HOD has Christ at the center of virtually every possible subject area, and it has me having heartfelt talks with my dc about the Lord every single day. It has my dc using their Bibles every day. I have time for heart to heart talks in the day - in fact, they're planned in the guides for me already. I could go on and on, but in general, HOD fits my teaching style because I'm a very busy mom that needs a pick up and go guide, but that also desires a very strong academic education for my dc, and that deeply desires a day filled with the Lord and filled with good discussions and meaningful learning we love. HOD does this all for me, and if any of this fits your teaching style, I do believe you've found a match.
b. I have done HOD on 6 months of bedrest, recovering for 6 weeks from a major surgery, during stints of intensive care unit with my premie babies, during speech therapy/physical therapy/etc. appointments. I have never skipped boxes or plans of anything in HOD -it's all too good to miss and too easy to do.
So, in response to your concerns here, HOD is written with the busy homeschool mama in mind. Skills are rotated, so not every skill learned is done every day. Each day's worth of plans takes the same amount of time, give or take 15 minutes or so. It is very motivating to me and to my dc to check off the daily boxes as do them... and we see 1/4 done, 1/2 done, 3/4 done, DONE with huge satisfaction and a feeling of a day well spent!
It's not hard to do. It doesn't take long. The most it's taken us to do a guide has been 4 hours, and that was Resurrection to Reformation (and it was usually closer to 3 1/2 hours).
I think everyone has 4 hours to homeschool each day - that's less than about 1/2 of a day dc are in ps - hooray - and that is what it took to do 3 guides with my 3 sons! However, if you have someone sick, or something comes up, then you can just finish the boxes not finished the day before first and then move on to the next day's plans very easily. HOD is very flexible, and it is just really so easy to do each day because of the incredible amount of planning Carrie puts into the guides with us busy homeschool moms including herself (she has 4 sons) and her busy schedule in mind as she writes. If you don't finish something, you can finish it the next day, but I really don't think you're going to have this happen with HOD.
c. Supplies are a non-issue with HOD. I know every guide out there "says" you'll have the things in your home, but HOD really does! Many substitutions are often suggested anyway, so I honestly wouldn't worry one bit about this. We've used HOD for 8 years and had only 1 time I didn't have something on hand. My kitchen and home are not "super-stocked" either. You'll be fine on the supplies front.
d. Well, all I can say is you'll never be scrambling to get HOD books. They're all available in neat little packages that make it easy on the pocketbook. And with HOD's new substitution and shipping policy, it's even easier to save.
So, there you have it.
I hope that helps answer your questions somewhat, but here are a few links you may enjoy reading too as you ponder this...
Why do you “heart” HOD?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8268&p=60839#p60839
Comparing Classical Approach, MFW, and HOD:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6485
In Christ,
Julie
but when we are finished we will do CTC. My daughter will be doing MFW Ancients for ninth grade. 
at her. My kids HATED the books and I thought I had killed their love of learning. After a few years now, I am ready to look at her again. 
I have throughly prayed over our decision to come to HOD and my husband agreed. He also like the moving toward independence and more interaction with the books. I really, really, really, really want to stay "here." The books look great and the activities and notebooking look so engaging. Usinf R&S will be new to us also.
Your journey actually fairly closely matches the journey HOD's author, Carrie, has been through (though she has not done the program called MFW), and she would readily admit her oldest ds has had to be the guinea pig too. I think you will find HOD fills a lot of those needs you've shared here. It does encourage more interaction with the materials. It uses excellent CM living books, but at a level dc can truly enjoy and understand. It includes read alouds, but in bite-sized manageable pieces that won't leave you hoarse. It teaches incremental independence that lets our dc take ownership of their learning, rather than just waiting on us to disperse knowledge. It includes fun hands-on activities that are easy to manage and meaningful. It includes notebooking that results in a portfolio-based assessment that doubles as a special keepsake of what was learned throughout the year. You've come to a good place.