just my idea

Your boss's email is understandable.
You guys can have a group meeting once a week to talk about how far you've done. then you can report your meeting to your boss. if necessary, your group can meet every the other day at certain time, let's say 2:00pm, to talk about the progress of the project. and then, you can report the progress to your boss.
You can explain to your peers the reason you have meetings more often than before.