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We all do it – we forget our manners when we get to camp. Napkins in our laps, elbows off the table, chewing with our mouth closed, etc. These are things we remember back home, eating dinner with our family around the table, or in a nice restaurant celebrating a fancy occasion. When we get to camp, it’s easy to throw all those rules out the window! We’re having fun, right? Camp is dirty and messy, why have manners?

Well, here’s a way to throw off those kids who forget! Use this chant to point out a camper or counselor who forgot their manners.

How to do this – when you spot someone in the mess hall who’s not using their manners (like having their elbows on the table, wearing a hat, forgot a napkin in the lap, etc.), gather a few camp counselors or camp directors around them – by surprise – and sing this chant, clapping and stomping your feet while chanting:

Napkin on the lap

Annie, Annie, don’t be a slack
Get that napkin on your lap
This is not a horse’s hall
This is a high class dining hall!
Stand up and sing a song
Sing a song, sing a song
Stand up and sing a song
We’re all waiting

Elbows on the table

Annie, Annie, strong and able
Get your elbows off the table
This is not a horse’s hall
This is a high class dining hall!
Stand up and sing a song
Sing a song, sing a song
Stand up and sing a song
We’re all waiting

Hat on your head

Annie, Annie, don’t be dead
Get that hat off your head
This is not a horse’s hall
This is a high class dining hall!
Stand up and sing a song
Sing a song, sing a song
Stand up and sing a song
We’re all waiting

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