My DS7 is still on the younger end of this conversation. Sleep away camp would be a no-go for him for several reasons. So we are looking solely in our immediate area for camps that (a) are not too chaotic or loud, (b) do NOT try to do anything academic and (c) include lots of outside play time or biking.
I think I'm in the minority, but I really don't want to sign him up for academics over the summer. At the end of the school year, the kids got a a folder full of flyers about academic-type camps, and a note requesting we attempt to get our kids to read at least 20 minutes a day. HAH! In our house that would be a bare minimum, and would cause angry outbursts because DS "needs" to read. And that's academic enough for me at this point. DS desperately needs this free exploration time.
For us, then, a proxy for all the above was finding a camp that allows and even promotes playing Magic the Gathering (DS's current obsession), and also goes swimming or exploring once a day. The Magic angle at this age tends to draw in bright kids, and the "no academics" angle actually tends to keep the camp smaller/less chaotic because, well pushing academics at EVERY age is what our town is all about. Bonus - it's with the after care teachers that DS dearly loves during the school year. He's been there all summer, safe, happy, and having a real summer vacation.
