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The school year is well underway, your children are settled in their classes and have learned quite a bit in the last month...so now's the time when most if not all kids are facing the reality of...TESTS!

Children can be nervous about tests and you can be equally nervous for them! You may want to take the test for them, of course that's not possible.

But there are some ways you can help your kids do the best they can on every test.

PROVIDE THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT:

Create for your children a special homework place with good lighting, comfortable seating and relatively uncluttered. Create a space your kids can help personalize - choosing the color of the furniture, choosing their stationery or helping you set it up -- they will have a feeling of ownership of the space and will be more excited about working there.

HELP YOUR CHILD PLAN AHEAD:

Help your child establish good habits by keeping an agenda book. Again, let your child express their personality by getting a book they can customize with their favorite stickers, photos of friends or even choose wrapping paper or wall paper to cover their agenda book with. Teach your child how to add each upcoming test to the calendar, and work together on setting a homework schedule well in advance so that there's no need to "cram for the exam." Let kids enter the fun stuff in the agenda book too like sporting events, birthday parties and family outings.

GET INVOLVED:

Before the test, encourage your child and offer them any last minute help they might need -- even if it's just quizzing them out of the textbook. Showing that you care about their studies and are willing to interact with them about what they're learning has an incredible impact, versus just expecting them to do great on their own.

After the test, no matter what the grade, let your child know how important it is that they did their very best, and that you are so very pleased with them. If they didn't do so well, make sure that someone is available to give them extra help during the week in that subject leading up to the next test -- whether this be a family member, a teacher's aide or a private tutor (but a family member is best). There's nothing worse than being behind in a subject when the rest of the class is moving on to new material. Kids can become quickly frustrated and give up if they don't feel like they can keep up with the other kids.

About the author: Linda Bustos is an editor for Creditor Web, and writes about personal finance, credit cards and life stuff.