This article introduces the curriculum history of early childhood education in Sweden. The study is based on curriculum theory and gender theory. A broad curricular concept is used. The selected period starts from around the 1850s until today. Examples of analysed key-texts except National curricula are: Handbooks, The Kindergarten (a journal; 1841­1947), Instructions (National Swedish Welfare Board, 1945­1990), Educational guidelines at the community and local level, 1993, and also integrated educational guidelines for pre-schools, day-centres and schools, selected in 1998­2000. The results can be summarised in four concepts and code periods, which includes a gender didactic pattern, as follows: - Curriculum of God, about 1850 to 1890: Patriarchal code - Curriculum of the good home, about 1890 to 1930/40: Sex-segregated common-code - Curriculum of the Welfare state, about the (1930/40) 1950s to the middle of the 1980s: Sex-neutral equality-code - Curriculum of the situated world-child, from the end of the 1980s to 2000: Pluralistic sex/gender-code