I wouldn't want DS not to have those kind of memories--just working alone, at home, with a computer. DS loves being on the golf team, robotics competitions, French class, etc.
If you find a good HSing group, all that stuff is still available. For example, we've got jr. high and high school kids working on the Olympics--our HS group is trying out every sport in the 2008 summer Olympics--and those who don't feel like doing the sports stuff can work as helpers. The cameraderie is great. We had roughly 120 kids at a gymnastics event on Sunday! It was a sight to see! And it cost $7 a head for 4+ hours of gymnastics instruction on every kind of equipment available.
There are also science fairs, sports teams, foreign language classes, etc. available. Different areas are different, and our area has a particularly active HSing population. But I'd bet that if you look around, you could find something comparable in your area.
I'm not trying to persuade you to HS, cym. And if your DS isn't interested, then that's really the end of the discussion as far as I'm concerned. But I always hate to hear someone dismissing HSing as an option because of an inaccurate perception of HSing as "a kid and a computer, alone."
And just to punctuate the point, remember that my biggest problem with HSing is that we're spending so doggone much time with other people! We're TOO social, not alone enough!
