My 14 & 12 dd's are doing CTC, and it has been an incredible blessing. My 14-year old has just lit up. She's been complaining this past year about being hs'ed, and we've struggled with her curriculum being very uninspiring for her. I really felt like HOD would kindle a love of learning in her, and that is indeed what has happened. After day two, she brought me the guide and said, "Thank you Mom, for getting this curriculum. I love it!" She is tackling the work on her own and taking it all in. She's reading ahead in her Ancient History book, the Dinosaur books too (which I was surprised that I am enjoying too), loving her notebook, the Apologia book, her Bible quiet time, and doing the program with her sister. Her schoolwork finally has meaning and purpose for her. I knew it would be a great fit for her, despite the fact that it's technically for 9-11 year olds. I think that really speaks to the depth and content of this curriculum. Quality is quality, no matter the age. So as not to freak her out at first, I removed the title page from inside the front cover of the guide that has the age range on it
. I just hope she doesn't see it on the spine someday! I think she's in love with it enough now though that she wouldn't care. 
As we work through the guide, I will incorporate some more advanced books for her that I have seen mentioned in other threads on this forum to beef it up. I am so looking forward to RTR after this. She wanted to know if there were more guides after CTC, and I reassured her that there are, and she has already made plans to use them all. She told me she even wants to work through the summer! As I said, what a blessing. My middle two are doing Bigger and it is so awesome. We are loving the Eggleston book, the Seashore book, the notebooking, the Ben Franklin biography, and the activities. These books are perfect. I found that I dislike Usborne-type books for "reading", and these books are so "real". I loved our easy-and-so-fun geography lesson we had tracing and talking about the continents and oceans, and our easy-and-so-fun science activity of dropping a quarter and a ball into the sink. We ended up with five of us crowding around the sink in the bathroom dropping all kinds of different things into the sink and being surprised at what sinks and what floats. Then they ran off to draw pictures of what they did. Right there in one week I had two experiences that made me feel like I was actually teaching my kids, which is more than I had in a year and a half of struggling along in an expensive, book-list-to-get-through curriculum. This is the reason I wanted to hs my kids, so I can teach them and do things with them. To say that I am pleased is an understatement.
I haven't even started Little Hearts yet, because the LHTH has been so fulfilling. I was going to do LHTH with my 4 year old, and also do her and my 6 year old ds half-speed in Little Hearts. But LHTH has been more rich than I expected, and my 6 year old is totally digging it, and I don't feel the need to do Little Hearts right this minute. Combined with daily phonics and a little math, it's plenty for my 6 yo ds right now. I think I will wait 6 months or so until they are both 5 & 7, and I will start Little Hearts full-speed and I think it will be perfect. The Little Hands is so much fun. My little girl looked at me with delight and amazement when I started singing rhymes with her and acting them out. She keeps bringing me her little Bible and saying, "Let's do more, Mama."
I have always wanted to do CM-style, but never have. We are all pretty much lost with the narration. None of us can do it, including my 14 and 12 year olds, and myself sometimes too! My 9 year old ds just looks at me with a blank look. Is it ok for a while to let my kids look back through the books when they narrate? When I model it for them, I find I have to do this too.
Anyway, congratulations to anyone who has read to the end of this LONG post - I read the board frequently, all you ladies are so encouraging and I appreciate this board and I am so appreciating HOD right now! Thank you for helping us get started with this fantastic stuff. I have already told several people about HOD, I think everyone should know about it. I would have hs'ed years ago if I'd had it.
Love,
Monique
Just wanted to add that as soon as I figure out how, I will upload some pictures on the weekly check-in board just for fun!
I could finish an entire chapter and not remember a thing I read but go off and jot down a "to do" list for the day instead, as that's what I was really thinking of. Dc can be the same way. Just start with shorter sections, like a page, and if need be reread the first line of the chapter to get them to rewind. In fact, that's been a helpful example for my dc - think of the book like a video and rewind to the beginning to "playback" it for me from start to finish with as much detail as possible. The hardest thing when starting narrations is to learn to "rewind" way back to the start, and the next hardest thing is not to "fast forward" through the middle. 
Narrating takes a long time to really do well (I'm still definitely working on it). Anyway, I'm celebrating your awesome news here!