My daughter will turn 7 in October, so she'll be an older first grade. This year, we've focused on phonics and math. We also did Classical Conversations, and will continue CC next year. If I do HOD next year, I'm leaning more toward Beyond. Little Hearts just looks too young for her. She's going to be ready to learn some rules of grammar this year. She will probably need phonics instruction for the first half of the year or so, but I think she will be ready for the emergent readers by the 2nd half. I figured if I use Beyond this year, and of course if we enjoy it, we will use Bigger for 2nd grade. After that, I might use MFW ECC. Or if I have fallen absolutely in love with HOD, I might stick with it. I bet you are hoping the latter happens.
But I'm just being honest that from just looking, the MFW 5 year cycle appeals to me more than the later HOD years do. I guess why I'm torn on what to do is because of a number of reasons. For one, I already bought some phonics for next year, and if I use MFW 1st, I won't need what I bought. I might hold onto it in hopes that we'll use it for extra practice, but it's unlikely I would. I could always resell it too, but if I use HOD, I can use it! I also already have a math curriculum for next year. I was just going to use that in addition to MFW 1st, but it can be my main math curriculum if I use HOD. We'll be using MUS Alpha by the way.
I think the main reasons why I would want to go ahead with MFW 1st is because the year centers around the Bible. I know HOD has devotions and Bible time, but I like the focus that MFW 1st has. Plus, despite what I said above about the phonics, I think DD might be more advanced with the phonics in MFW 1st than if we do what I already bought, which is Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code. It's not like the phonics I already have is super mind blowing or anything. But DD really likes the simplicity of Hooked on Phonics, and I like the extra practice that Explode the Code provides. I also liked that with MFW, our 2nd grade would be a focus on U.S. History, but it looks like our 1st and 2nd grade would be a thourough focus on U.S. History if we used HOD. Not that that's a bad thing. Our focus in Classical Conversations was going to be in U.S. history for her 2nd grade year, so that's kind of why I liked the way it fell in MFW.
Why I'm not totally serious about considering FIAR? Because I stink at planning. I bought FIAR for her K year, and I didn't get any of it done. A part of me hopes that if I were to try it again next year, that I'd be able to do it, but if I'm completely honest with myself, it won't get done. Maybe later down the road, after I've had practice with curriculum that's already set up for me, like MFW or HOD, I will be able to implement such a curriculum as FIAR. Maybe! If I were to use FIAR, I'd do First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease for our LA, along with a spelling curriculum.
I'm so sorry if this post is all over the place. You just got a peak of what's going on inside my head. It really is all over the place, and that's why I have no real idea of what we're doing next year.
I don't even think I've even asked a question. LOL! This post is more like a vent, and a hope that someone can give some suggestions. Okay, I'll throw in some questions.-If you have tried MFW and switched to HOD, why did you switch?
=Do you think Beyond will be too advanced for my DD? And then do you think Bigger will be doable in 2nd grade? If it will be too advanced, then we probably won't do HOD because I am totally convinced that Little Hearts will not be enough. I'd probably have to add FLL and WWE to it.
If you made it all the way through my post, thank you! And I'm so sorry for my ramble!
We're glad to have you here. One thing you'll notice when you look at HOD is that each guide has a target age range that encompasses several different age levels. What is different about our age levels is that a child of a certain age could actually be placed in one of several HOD guides, depending on his/her skill level. So, a 7 year old could actually be placed in LHFHG (which is for ages 5-7), Beyond (which is for ages 6-8), or Bigger (which is for ages 7-9). This means that different families will have different placements for their 7 year olds, depending on the 7 year old's skill level in the 3R's especially. 
They have fond memories of Beyond and so do I. I can't wait to do it a third time in the fall. I think you and your dd would have an amazing year in Beyond!