Hi Lia, and welcome to the HOD Board!
What you mentioned you love about HOD is also much of what I love about HOD - easy to use format, no prep for me, clear objectives for lessons and activities, day to day and week to week incremental teaching of skills, Christ-centered approach to learning, and great balance of academics/Christian values/learning styles. I'd like to help you choose where to place your boys. I have 3 boys, and I have used the placement chart to place them. It has been right on track!
My 3 sons, like your boys, are very different learners. One is extremely hands-on and very bodily kinesthetic. Another is very visual and loves anything to do with books. Still another is very auditory, and anything he hears, he knows. HOD has accommodated them all well. I especially like the fact that HOD makes sure to balance each day with each learning style in mind. So every day, each child gets to do things that are in keeping with their preferred learning style, but they are also getting practice in improving learning styles that do not come as easily to them.
I think it really helps to print a copy of the first page of the placement chart for each child, and then think of one child at a time, circling on the chart where that child falls in age, reading, writing, grammar, and math. You will be able to share that information with us here on the board then, and we can then help you choose what would work well for your dc. Age is only one determining factor in placement, and HOD is not a cookie-cutter curriculum. Instead, a huge benefit of HOD is fine tuning your dc's placement so they are accurately placed based on their skills, their needs, and your family's goals. Placement takes a bit, but it is so worth the time. This is a year of your life, and I can vouch for the fact that if you get your placement right, the result is a fantastic school year for all involved. I'll check back to see what you've shared about your sons when you've gotten a chance to check out the placement chart!
In Christ,
Julie