Any camp you consider should have excellent programming.  Programming means all the things that camp plans for the kids including activities, night events, trips, etc.  Camps run their programming based on several different types of systems.  Some use "cabin" programming, where each cabin attends activities together.  While it does promote cabin unity, in my opinion it's much too much time with the same small group of people, rather than the entire camp community.  Meeting new friends from all over the world, from different age groups, and from different backgrounds is one of the key ingredients in camp.  We foster diversity and understanding, and hanging out with the same eight kids doesn't do much of either.  

Other camps use "kid's choice" programming, which allows campers to choose the activities they want, but here's where it gets tricky.  Many camps use a "priority-based" type of system in which kids suggest the activities they would like to do, then the camp fills those activities based on a priority system.  Once the activities are full, they are unavailable to the remaining campers who have asked to do those activities.  The priorities can be any number of things.  Some camps allow the older kids to get activities during the first week and the younger kids the next.  Some allow the kids of the families who signed up for camp first to get first priority in activity choices.  In my opinion, this kind of system is a misnomer.  It's not really "kid's choice" if the kids don't get to do the activities they pick.  It's more like a "kid's gamble."  Roll the dice and maybe you can go horseback riding/...maybe not.  We've heard too many times from kids who have attended other camps that they picked water skiing five times but never got to try it.  This can be extremely disappointing to kids and I feel it's unfair.  

At Camp Waziyatah, we use a kid's choice program that is really and entirely based on each individual camper's choices.  Whatever activities kids pick, they get.  But this is very hard on our end, and from the programming perspective. We manage the number of kids by strategically building the program to offer choices which should fill equally and leave no one out.  If there are too many kids in one period, we will move them to a different period or run a special period for the extras.  Whatever the case, kids never miss what they pick.  Our daily activities (of which there are five activity periods) are run basically with half each day's activities recurring throughout the week, which is great for learning a new skill like how to ride a horse or get to the top of the climbing wall.  The other half of each day's activities is randomized throughout the week, which is excellent for trying new things. With more than 40 activities, we have to make sure kids get a chance to try what they want.  Every child who comes to camp should learn to sail, shoot an arrow, build a campfire, pitch a tent, sing a camp song, and of course, spot poison ivy!  We believe the system offers the perfect mix of new things to learn and try as well as recurring activities in which to improve your skills.  This gives everyone a chance to try everything, which is great for kids (and a pain for us).  It looks a bit like a physics equation when all the choices come in, but we put them all together in a schedule that works.