What exercises can I do at home for toning the back of my legs?

I presume you mean the backs of your thighs, as opposed to your calves. Those muscles are called the hamstrings. Their job is to flex (bend) the knee, and they are essential to any sport involving the legs. (You always hear about athletes "pulling," or overstraining, their hamstrings.)

It is tough to work the hamstrings at home without machines because they are strong and you need a reasonable amount of resistance to increase your strength.

The first exercise I would do at home is squats. You can do them with your own body weight and then add resistance by holding dumbbells in your hands. Of course, once you have the dumbbells, you can do all sorts of other exercises as well. Although I've recommended squats as a butt exercise and quad exercise, they work your hamstrings too. That is why strength coaches call squats the "king of exercises."

In the gym we use the leg curl machine to isolate the hamstrings. You begin by lying prone (on your stomach) or sitting up, depending on the apparatus, with your legs extended. Whichever position you're in, you pull your heels toward your butt to contract your hamstrings, and then slowly return to the starting position. It's similar to curling a dumbbell with your arms to train your biceps.

To simulate this exercise at home, you'll need ankle weights or some other form of resistance such as exercise tubing or bands. Start out on your hands and knees, wearing the ankle weights. Extend one leg behind you, so that your knee is straight and slightly higher than your hip. Curl your heel toward your butt as far as you can, and slowly lower your leg back to the extended position. Don't let your knee drop below the level of your hip. Do a set of 15-25 repetitions and change legs. You can do 1-3 sets of this exercise. As you get stronger, use heavier ankle weights; don't keep increasing the repetitions.

To do the same exercise with elastic tubing or bands, make a loop of tubing large enough to fit around both feet. Lie flat on an exercise mat. Curl one leg toward you while the other leg remains on the floor as an anchor for the band. You'll need to make some adjustments until the band is long enough to let you curl your leg past 90 degrees while still giving you enough tension.

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