Sarah Meyer examines how the educational plans for daycare in Germany address social differentiation and imbue it with pedagogical significance. In this context, educational plans are understood as documents of educational policy communication and as a "stage" for educational reform efforts. Through a qualitative reconstructive document analysis that integrates argumentation, agency, and image analysis, it is demonstrated how professional knowledge offerings are entangled with educational policy goals and ideals. Thus, the author makes a critical contribution to the early childhood education discourse on differentiation at the intersection of science, educational practice, and education policy.