PORTSMOUTH — School was back in session Saturday at the Portsmouth Historical Society — although the classroom, curriculum and rules were decidedly old-fashioned.

During the society’s Family Day, Daughters of the American Revolution member Hillary Pietz brought her three children to the Southermost Schoolhouse, New England’s oldest one-room schoolhouse, dating to 1725.

Eloise, 9, promptly appointed herself teacher, leaving siblings Dottie, 7, and Edward, 4, to serve as her students.

The arrangement may have suited the young scholars. The 18th-century school rules did not.

Those rules, preserved on a sign inside the schoolhouse, included some rather severe punishments — including one lash whenever boys and girls played together. And that was nothing: Fighting at school brought five lashes; misbehaving toward girls brought another 10.

The Pietz children agreed that colonial education left plenty of room for improvement.

Christine Barney of The Ladies of the Greene demonstrated how to make what she referred to as an “18th century wallet.” The Ladies, based out of the Nathanael Greene Homestead in Coventry, performed colonial life demonstrations at the event, which also featured stories in the schoolhouse, “George Washington’s Spy Training School,” book displays and more.

Jim McGaw

Outside, Christine Barney showed visitors how to make what she described as an “18th-century wallet.” Other activities included book displays and “George Washington’s Spy Training School,” where young visitors could test their ability to gather intelligence for the commander in chief.

The weekend marked the conclusion of the DAR’s “American Revolution Experience” traveling exhibit, displayed upstairs at the historical society — where the Pietz children’s father, Ted, was checking it out.

The final day, Sunday, was devoted to “Forgotten Patriots,” with programs highlighting the significant — and often unrecognized — contributions of people of African descent to the American fight for independence.

Akeia de Barros Gomes, director of the Center for Black History in Newport, spoke at 1 p.m. The weekend’s events concluded with the Navy Choristers performing a selection of patriotic songs at 3 p.m.

For Eloise, however, the preferred position appeared to be at the front of the class — even if her two pupils weren’t especially interested in following the old-school rules.